National Asian Culture Center of Korea (ACC) celebrates its 10th anniversary with a focus on contemporary Asia

Since its grand opening in Nov2015, the ACC has produced 96 original works and staged over 1,000 touring performances worldwide, pioneering innovative and future-oriented cultural productions. 

To reflect on the past decade and look ahead to the next, the ACC has launched two iconic projects this autumn, featuring collaborations with Asian and Korean artists. Both projects explore contemporary issues and ideas emerging from the Asian region, focusing on the struggles of individuals confronting harsh realities and hyper-modern challenges. 

Teaser filming (Photo credit ACC)

Sirirung Sirirung is an onomatopoeic phrase mimicking the sound of sawing a gourd, and also a lyric from pansori, Korea’s traditional one-person musical storytelling performance. This musical drama is based on Heungbo-ga, a classic pansori tale from the late 18th century. It tells the story of two brothers: the elder, wealthy and cruel; the younger, poor but kind-hearted. In the end, the younger brother is rewarded through the help of a swallow, while the elder faces punishment for his greed. This moral theme – virtue triumphing over vice – is echoed in traditional narratives from India, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, and Japan, reminding us of shared human values and the ways we navigate life’s challenges.  

Theater director YANG Jung Woong, choreographer KIM Boram and Ambiguous Dance Company, along with music director JANG Young Gyu and the acclaimed Leenalchi (Band), reunite for the second time following the sensational success of The Tiger is Coming Down in 2018. 

Workshop in Gwangju, Bangkok, and Taipei with three directors (Photo credit: ACC)

Remapping Asia is the ACC’s new slogan, reflecting its commitment to redefining “Asianness” through its own lens. While several guiding keywords have been proposed, the ACC emphasises that meaningful engagement – through study, research, and creative collaboration with and about Asia – is the most authentic way to embody this vision.  

This three-year co-production (2024–2026) between the ACC and Taiwan’s National Theater & Concert Hall (NTCH) brings together three distinguished young directors from Thailand, Taiwan, and Korea. The collaboration seeks to explore shared concerns and contemporary issues facing Asia today.  

A FRAGILE BEING, DRIFTING THROUGH AIR AND DAY: THEN JUMPS, JUMPS!, JUMPS!!, directed by Wyne CHAMAI of Thailand, poses a poignant question to those enduring isolation and loneliness in contemporary society: “Must life be driven solely toward production and achievement?” 

Chamai’s direction begins with a search for inner values and the unique meaning of existence, rather than seeking validation from external sources. The work suggests that by reshaping our relationships – with others, with nature, and with spiritual beliefs – we can uncover new possibilities for living. This is not merely a narrative of recovery, but a healing journey that moves toward solidarity, imagination, and a reawakening of the self.  

FORGET ME NOT, directed by WEN Szuni of Taiwan, is an experimental theatre piece that bridges the memory of war – one of the deepest scars in modern Asian history – with the present moment. In an era when the threat of war feels increasingly imminent, Wen resists the impulse to prepare survival kits or escape plans. Instead, she turns to theatre as a medium for generating a new kind of tension on stage – one that evokes a past never personally lived and a future not yet realised.  

Through this approach, the work poses a profound question: How is war remembered and rewritten across the layers of state, society, community, and the individual? FORGET ME NOT invites audiences to reflect on the fragile boundaries between collective memory and personal experience, and the role of art in navigating both.  

ANTI-SHAMAN SHAMAN CLUB, directed by OH Se Hyuk of Korea, presents a bold new stage shaped by the provocative themes of martial law and shamanism. In this work, the shaman is not merely a folkloric figure, but a layered symbol – embodying both system and resistance, memory and festivity. Its raw energy erupts through the pulse of electronic dance music (EDM), transforming tradition into a visceral, contemporary experience.  

2024–2026 marks Phase One of the ReMapping Asia project, initiated by the ACC. As the project unfolds, the ACC invites other theatres and cultural institutions across Asia to join Phase Two, scheduled for 2027–2029. This long-term initiative aims to foster deeper collaboration and shared exploration of contemporary Asian identity through performance, research, and artistic exchange. 

For more details, please visit the ACC’s official website.