The Centro de Cultura Contemporánea Condeduque, part of the Culture, Tourism, and Sports Area of the Madrid City Council, will host the Madrid premiere of Haribo Kimchi, by South Korean artist Jaha Koo, in collaboration with the Korean Cultural Center in Spain on March 8th and 9th. This performance combines electronic music, video art, robots, and live cooking, delving into Korean food culture and its social impact.
In 2018 and 2021, Condeduque showcased the last two pieces of the Hamartia trilogy (Cuckoo and The history of korean western theatre) as part of Veranos de la Villa. In this trilogy, scenic creator, music composer, and video artist Jaha Koo delved into the political history of South Korea and the constitutive imperialism of East Asia. This year, he returns with his new piece, Haribo Kimchi, focusing on the cultural aspects of cooking and eating.
The stage is set like a pojangmancha, a typical nighttime snack bar in South Korea, where various lost souls gather: a YouTuber, an eel, a toad, and a rice cooker. The culinary journey explores food culture as a language that can reveal the structure of society.
A series of anecdotes, as absurd as they are heartwarming, narrate significant events such as the globalization of kimchi culture (a traditional Korean dish made of fermented vegetables) through the Korean diaspora, or cannibalism during the North Korean famine in the late 20th century, alongside more intimate feelings like ‘the bitter pain of unadulterated racism and the deep umami flavor of home,’ in the artist’s words.
Jaha Koo
Jaha Koo is a South Korean theater and performance creator, music composer, and videographer. His artistic practice encompasses his own music, video, text, and robotic objects.
His Hamartia trilogy includes Lolling and Rolling (2015), Cuckoo (2017), and The History of Korean Western Theatre (2020). The trilogy represents a long-term exploration of the political landscape, colonial history, and cultural identity of East Asia. Thematically, it focuses on structural issues of Korean society and how the unavoidable past tragically affects our current lives.
Koo earned a degree in Theater Studies (BFA, 2011) from the National University of Arts in Korea and a master’s degree (MA, 2016) from the DAS Theatre in Amsterdam. His latest creation, Haribo Kimchi, premiered in June 2024 and is now coming to the Centro de Cultura Contemporánea Condeduque. /
