Suwon Mayor: "We are all custodians of our ancient traditional culture" (Photos)

(Clearwisdom.net)

SUWON, South Korea--The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts hosted its final show in South Korea's historic city of Suwon on February 18. Suwon Mayor Kim Yong Seo was one of the audience members who was captivated by Shen Yun's performance.

Mayor Kim stood up to applaud for a long time in expressing his appreciation for the Shen Yun artists. He gasped with admiration. "It is indeed very hard to see such an excellent show here in South Korea that demonstrates such lingering charm," he said. "It would be so great if this show can be seen by all 1.1 million Suwon residents, and let them all feel the happiness."

Shen Yun has come to Suwon for the first time, a beautiful cultural city that assembles cultural heritage from around the world. "It is worth treasuring to see here such a show that demonstrates Chinese history and culture," Mayor Kim said. "I am very happy about Shen Yun coming. It is just a pity that (Shen Yun) is performing here only for such a short time period."

Suwon Mayor Kim Yong Seo.

He believes that Koreans will be very happy and longing to learn traditional Chinese culture. "China and Korea are in the same cultural circle. We are all custodians of our ancient traditional culture. Especially, we have gotten the Confucian culture from China, and the Confucian culture allowed us to learn how to cultivate manners, ... and nations need to respect and love each other. I believe China and Korea are the same in this aspect in history. I think it is a very good phenomenon that Chinese and Korean history and culture could coexist in the same oriental cultural circle."

Mayor Kim expects that more Koreans will come to see Shen Yun. "Such a performance is rare," he said. "I hope people will come to watch, if given the chance. It will be great help for you to learn Chinese history and culture and for you to understand China. I hope more Koreans can come to see this show."

Orchestra Director: "One can see the performers' rich spiritual and Chinese cultural essence"

Among the renowned artists attending Shen Yun's previous show on February 17 was prominent Arirang Orchestra director Oh Ji Yoon. She said, "You cannot find a flaw in this performance, it is absolutely perfect, the whole world should come to a consensus to invite Shen Yun to their country."

Oh Ji Yoon is the director of the Arirang Orchestra, an orchestra enriched with Korean colors. After watching the show, Ms. Oh said: "In Korea, I am also involved in traditional music. There are so many things we can learn from Shen Yun shows, I really don't know how to express my feelings right now. I have so many thoughts right now that words cannot describe them ..."

At present, Ms. Oh has plans to promote Korean national music internationally. She said: "Indeed, Shen Yun has given me many valuable sources of inspiration. ... Chinese people are a race with spirit and strength, there are so many things I have to learn from them."

Korean Arirang Orchestra director Oh Ji Yoon

Ms. Oh also said that from the costumes to the stage effects, the show is impeccable. Most of the opera shows in Korea adopt staging techniques from their Western counterparts but today Shen Yun exhibited a different characteristic. She said: "I learned many things. The costumes and stage layout are excellent. Furthermore, one can see the performers' rich spiritual and Chinese cultural essence. This kind of spirit cannot be expressed using technical means."

Oh Ji Yoon said that the cooperation between the emcees, as well as all the movements in the show are perfect. "Through their performance, I realized that they aspire to bring Chinese culture to the whole world. Such integrity is what I think should be passed down."

Ms. Oh was most impressed with the spirit and essence of Chinese culture brought to life through the form of arts by Shen Yun. She commented that this is the most remarkable part of the show and reflects the traditional spirit.

She was impressed at how the Shen Yun New York Orchestra is able to combine both Western and Chinese musical instruments--turning it into something of its own. Yet at the same time, it is able to retain its own spiritual connotation, which is also most important.

"Especially through the medium of arts, the realms, or spirit, or soul, Shen Yun presented to the audience, the highest value given by arts ... this kind of art should not be artificially segregated into Western or Oriental arts."

Finally Ms. Oh said, "Today's performance has a great effect on my future work, it has helped me tremendously. The show is absolutely gorgeous! It has traditional spirit and is an excellent show. I am very touched."

Sources:

http://theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/30034/

http://theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/30045/