“Bibimbap – a Korean dish of assorted vegetables with rice and hot pepper paste -- was the first thing that came to my mind when I was asked to come up with a performance based on Korean cuisine,” said Choi Chol-gi, 36, the director of the nonverbal performance “Bibap Korea.” “Bibimbap is dynamic in the way it mixes all kinds of ingredients. I also liked that fact that I would be the first to make a stage performance out of Korean food.”

Choi is already well known for his other two big non-verbal performances, “Nanta” and “Jump,” which have received rave reviews both at home and abroad. This time he's back with a new kind of entertainment: “Eat-ertainment” as he calls it, which demonstrates the spirit of mixing and harmony of the Korean dish.

Bibap Korea is funded through the joint investment of CJ Entertainment and the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, as part of the government's plan to globalize Korean cuisine -- or Hansik -- overseas. 

“I needed some powerful movements to express the term “bibida” (mixing and harmonizing) that is at the root of bibimbap. I also had to ponder what Korea is good at, to express that vibrancy, too. All this pointed toward Korean b-boys, currently the reigning world champions in the field,” Choi said. “I expressed break dancing and the process of mixing a bowl of ingredients with beat box. I added a cappella music and a bit of Korean traditional martial arts movements like taekkyeon, too.”

The basic storyline is how eight young cooks learn the recipe for bibimbap from a master chef. The sound of sizzling oil, the slicing of vegetables and sprinkling of condiments trigger the cooks to dance to the rhythm.

Indeed, one thing that sets “Bibap Korea” apart from “Nanta” and “Jump” is the music. It is the music that leads the story all along. Moreover, the dancers will actually demonstrate the making of a giant bowl of bibimbap. The smell of fresh vegetables, sesame oil and other food ingredients will most likely stimulate audience, leaving them to eagerly await the food sampling session that comes right after the 30-minute performance.

To emphasize bibimbap as a health food, director Choi plans to show a video of Korea's beautiful scenery together with beat box music, break dancing and martial arts on the stage.

Bibap Korea will not be performed regularly yet. It will first be employed as an element of promotional material for Hansik-related functions or festivals at home and abroad. Commercial performances must wait, as more time is needed to add details to make the story richer and longer.

“We plan to bring Korea to international festivals like the Cannes International Film Festival and other state-run festivals to promote Korean food,” said Min Eung-gyu, First Vice Minister of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. It was he who came up with the combination of bibimbap and dance.

Choi is equally enthusiastic about his new project, due to his own love for the food he grew up with. “Whenever I go abroad for performances and don't get to eat kimchi-jjigae (kimchi stew) or doenjang-jjigae (bean paste stew) I get so upset that I have trouble concentrating on my work. These days I always pack my doenjang and gochujang (hot pepper paste) when I need to visit places with no Korean restaurants,” he said.

“Bibap Korea” had its first performance last October at the AT Center Building in Yangjae-dong before an audience of some 100 guests from Hansik Globalization Committee and culinary students.

Hard times for show's creator

Like all good musicians or artists, Choi too has had his own share of tough days. “The time when I was preparing ‘Jump' was the hardest,” he recalled. “I developed it over five years from the time I was in my late-20s to my mid-30s. In the end, I was so out of cash that I had to sell practically everything. All I had left for myself was the laptop computer that held the stage plans and scenario for ‘Jump.'”

It wasn't hard to find investors who were interested in “Jump.” So what took so long for the show to materialize? “Many agreed with the basic concept, but they wanted to continue revising it to their tastes,” Choi said. “Not that I was tempted to compromise. I was having a hard time just getting by, but I couldn't betray my staff who had faith in me all along and tell them we're going to stage something totally different.”

He and his team members would often skip meals. They walked all the way home because they couldn't afford bus fare. One young actress burst into tears when she didn't have money to buy a sanitary napkin. Having had enough, Choi asked the members to leave, since everything looked hopeless.

“Many young people who wish to work on the stage ask for my advice. I tell them to pour out all their passion on the stage for three years. In truth, three years will hardly do. However, once that happens, it becomes hard for them to give up by then. Success will come sooner or later from that point. Our ‘Jump' team is the living proof.”

Three days later, the Jump staff again gathered at the rehearsal space. They all showed up voluntarily and for one reason only – they couldn't stand throwing away their three years of hard work.

In 2005, the team was invited to Scotland's Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Of the 1,800 shows, “Jump” came first in ticket sales. Choi and his team hugged each other with tears in their eyes, seeing the endless lines waiting to see their performance.

“My dream is to make a stage show that could represent the whole of Asia: a combination of Korean software, Chinese story and Japanese techniques. We're still dominated by western stage art, but now I would like to move people's hearts with the mysterious wonders of Asia,” Choi said.
    
*Adapted from Weekly Gonggam Magazine

By Kim Hee-sung
Korea.net Staff Writer