Jaha Koo
HARIBO KIMCHI
Aromas waft over from a steamy simmering soup, a knife blade hisses through spring onions, mushrooms sizzle on a scorching fire.
In Haribo Kimchi, we find ourselves in a pojangmacha, one of the typical late-night snack bars found on the streets of South Korea. There, we meet three characters—a snail, a gummy bear, and an eel—who take us on a culinary journey, exploring food as shelter for those dislocated from their culture. In a series of intimate, absurdist anecdotes, they recount the evolution of kimchi culture, the bitter pain of unadulterated racism, the shame of trying to blend in and the deep umami taste of home.
After his Hamartia Trilogy (2021), which delved into the far-reaching imperialism in East Asia, South Korean theatre maker and composer Jaha Koo returns with his newest creation. In a hybrid style that combines music, cutting-edge video, and robotic performers, the artist reflects on cultural assimilation with all its conflicts and paradoxes. In an exceptional performance that plays with all the senses, he serves up personal stories marinated in sweet-and-sour melancholy.
concept, text, direction, music, sound & video Jaha Koo performance Gona, Haribo, Eel, Jaha Koo & two guests dramaturgy Dries Douibi scenography, research collaboration & media operation Eunkyung Jeong artistic advice Pol Heyvaert technical coordination Korneel Coessens technique Bart Huybrechts, Babette Poncelet & Jasse Vergauwe production coordination Wim Clapdorp English proofreading Jason Wrubell snail animation Vincent Lynen production CAMPO coproduction Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels), Rideau de Bruxelles, Theater Utrecht, SPRING festival (Utrecht), Festival d’Automne à Paris, Théâtre de la Bastille (Paris), Tangente St. Pölten – Festival für Gegenwartskultur, &Espoo theatre (Espoo), International Summer Festival Kampnagel (Hamburg), Sophiensaele (Berlin), Meet You Festival (Valladolid), Bunker (Ljubljana), National Theatre and Concert Hall Taipei, The Divine Comedy International Theater Festival / Teatr Łaźnia Nowa (Kraków) & Perpodium with the support of the taxshelter of the Belgian Federal Government via Cronos Invest & the Flemish Government
The eel prototype was developed as part of the Innovation:Lab funnel in co-production with Theater Utrecht and creative technologists Adriaan Wormgoor & Willem Vooijs.