The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister YU In Chon, MCST) will present its 2025 Lunar New Year Concert on Wednesday, February 5, at 4 p.m. at the Haeoreum Theater of the National Theater of Korea. This special event aims to deliver messages of comfort and hope to the public while wishing for a vibrant leap forward in the fields of culture, arts, sports, and tourism through traditional performing arts.

Harmony in art: showcasing regional and young artists

The 2025 Lunar New Year Concert will feature a vibrant lineup of performances presented by Korea’s leading traditional performing arts institutions—the National Theater of Korea (CEO PARK In Geon) and the National Gugak Center (Acting Director-General GANG Dae Geum). They will present a variety of performances, featuring artists from regional communities as well as young artists who were active members of the National Youth Arts Troupe in 2024.

The Folk Music Orchestra of the National Gugak Center will open the concert by performing Gilnori and Chukwon Deokdam to wish the audience good fortune and set an uplifting tone for the event. The Court Music Orchestra and Dance Company of the National Gugak Center will then perform Yeominrak and Bongraeui, symbolizing harmony and peace. To add to the festive spirit, young trainees from the National Gugak Center’s Dance Company will perform a mask dance entitled In Search of Another Self (excerpt from Sangseon Yaksoo).

Following the recent success of the TV drama Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born, the National Changgeuk Company of Korea will present key scenes from its traditional Korean opera adaptation. Members of the National Folk Gugak Center and the National Namsadang Gugak Center will follow with a medley of folk songs, delivering rich, resonant melodies that embody the spirit of hope for the new year.

The National Dance Company of Korea will showcase Mugo, highlighting powerful drum performances paired with dynamic choreography. Bringing the concert to a grand finale, the National Gugak Orchestra will perform New Boating, a contemporary reinterpretation of traditional Korean rhythms infused with a modern flair.

The concert will be streamed live on the official YouTube channel of the Gugak Broadcasting System (www.youtube.com/@GugakTV) and broadcast nationwide on the Gugak Stage channel on Thursday, February 13, at 9 p.m.

Embracing Korean traditions with gugak and hanbok,

promoting the value of art for all with artists with disabilities

Notably, all key attendees at this year’s event will wear hanbok to showcase the elegance and beauty of traditional Korean attire. For attendees who may have difficulty securing hanbok, a rental service will be available on-site. Moreover, general audience members who wear hanbok will receive a 50% discount on the admission fee. The concert will also celebrate inclusivity by featuring artists with disabilities, including Light Sound Friends and the Korean Traditional Music Orchestra of the Blind, creating a shared cultural experience for people of all abilities.

Minister YU stated, “The 2025 Lunar New Year Concert was prepared with over 1,000 people from fields of art and culture, sports, and tourism through our unique sounds and movements of our traditional arts  to wish for peace and prosperity of Korea. I hope that the resonant power and universal appeal of our traditional arts will inspire even greater growth in the fields of culture, arts, sports, and tourism.”