Jaha Koo: Haribo Kimchi

Floating aromas of a steamy simmering soup, the sharp sound of a knife quickly slicing spring onions, the hissing and sizzling of mushrooms on a scorching fire.

In Haribo Kimchi, we find ourselves in a pojangmacha, a typical late-night snack bar that can be found scattered across the streets of South Korea.

There we meet several lost souls who take us on a culinary journey, exploring food culture as a form of language that reveals the structure of a society.

In several absurdist and touching anecdotes, they recount the diaspora of Kimchi culture, cannibalism during the great famine, the sour pain of unadulterated racism and the deep umami taste of home.

After the Hamartia Trilogy (2021), in which he delved into the far-reaching imperialism in East Asia, the South Korean theatre maker and composer Jaha Koo returns with his newest creation.

In his typical hybrid style, combining 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 alters our perception of food for good.

Credits

Jaha Koo concept, text, direction, music, sound and video

Jaha Koo, Seri, Toad and Haribo performers

Dries Douibi dramaturgy

Eunkyung Jeong scenography and media operation

Pol Heyvaert artistic advice

Korneel Coessens technical coordination

Bart Huybrechts and Babette Poncelet technique

Idella Craddock cuckoo hacking and toad development

Wim Clapdorp production coordination

CAMPO production

Co-production: Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Rideau de Bruxelles; Theater Utrecht, SPRING festival (Utrecht); Festival d’Automne à Paris, Théâtre de la Bastille (Paris); Tangente St-Pölten; & Espoo theatre (Finland); Kampnagel International Summer Festival (Hamburg); Sophiensaele (Berlin); Meet You Festival (Valladolid); Bunker (Ljubljana); National Theatre and Concert Hall Taipei; The Divine Comedy International Theater Festival/Teatr Laznia Nowa (Kraków); and Perpodium

With the support of the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government via Cronos Invest and the Flemish Government. The London presentation of Haribo Kimchi is generously supported by the Government of Flanders.

To learn more about the event, or book tickets please visit Southbank Centre