[아리랑TV] Seoul Fringe Festival Kicks Off
seoulfringe2010-08-194537
| 영상바로보기 (밑의 주소 클릭해주세요) http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?code=Ne6&nseq=105992 Seoul Fringe Festival |
Good to have you back with us. The word ‘fringe‘ by definition means unofficialㆍ or not conventional in form. But it could also mean unjuriedㆍ uncensoredㆍ and accessible to the public when referring to fringe festivals. And these festivals are unique in that they happen on the doorsteps of buildingsㆍ buses and wherever artists could freely perform and present their artwork. Wellㆍ the first thing that comes to my mind is the Edinburgh fringe festival but apparentlyㆍ the city of Seoul has one of the most interesting fringe festivalsㆍ as well. And our news reporter Lee Ji-yoon tells us that the unique event is already in its 13th year. She joins us now in the studio. Hello Ji-yoon. [Reporter : ] Hello Conn-youngㆍ Sean. So last weekㆍ I got the chance to check out the annual ‘Seoul Fringe Festival.‘ The Fringe Festival first began in England where it then spread widely across the world as a way to explore each nation‘s independent art and music scene. The festival gained a foothold in more than 100 cities worldwideㆍ including Korea which held its first Fringe Festival back in 1998. The event is unique in a way that it‘s fully committed to promoting independent artists and their performances at places like small and live theaters as well as galleriesㆍ street corners and clubs around Seoul‘s Hongik University. And before I go into too much detail let me take you to this one of a kind festival where you will be able to witness an explosion of creativity with a love for art. For over 300 artists here in Seoul art has no borders or boundaries. At small theatersㆍ live music clubs and galleries located around Hongik Universityㆍ the area best known as Hongdaeㆍ both individual and group artists have come together to enjoy the one of a kind of festival to freely express themselves through music and art. With hopes of truly communicating with their audiencesㆍ this 17-day event kicked off with a grand opening parade to let more people know about the hundreds of underground bands and independent artists and their true passion for what they do. [Reporter : Lee Ji-yoonㆍ jiyoonjlee@arirang.co.kr] "The opening parade marks the start of this year‘s seoul fringe festival and visitors are in for a treat with all kinds of independent music and performances waiting for them at over 40 different venues over the next two weeks." The festival has been getting more and more popular through the years as more people have been giving attention and appreciation to independent artists and musicians even though the style of music and performances may be a little different from what people are often used to seeing through TV and other venues. [Interview : Lee Go-imㆍ Public Relations Seoul Fringe Festival] "Independent artists who are not part of any agencies or companies often have a hard time finding places to freely perform and display their artwork. So through this festivalㆍ we are trying to promote and support many independent artists by providing them the space they need to interact with large audiences." Despite the rainㆍ the band ‘Sultan of the Disco‘ performed some of their original songs at a playground in the middle of Hongdae where people then started to gather one by one to groove to the music. [Interview : Shannon Murphyㆍ Visitor Canada] "I actually think this is amazing because in Canada we have a lot of different festivals and it‘s really refreshing as a foreigner to be able to |