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Bea Borgers

Haribo Kimchi

Jaha Koo / CAMPO
Fri 23 Jan - Sat 18 Apr

The surprising flavor of seaweed soup, the sharp sound of a knife slicing cucumber, the hiss and sizzle of mushrooms on a scorching fire.

In Haribo Kimchi, we find ourselves in a pojangmacha, one of the typical late-night snack bars found on the streets of South Korea. There, we meet three characters—a snail, a gummy bear, and an eel—who take us on a culinary journey, exploring food as shelter for those dislocated from their culture. In a series of intimate, absurdist anecdotes, they recount the evolution of kimchi culture, the bitter pain of unadulterated racism, the shame of trying to blend in and the deep umami taste of home.

After his Hamartia Trilogy (2021), which delved into the far-reaching imperialism in East Asia, South Korean theatre maker and composer Jaha Koo returns with his newest creation. In a hybrid style that combines 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 serves up personal stories marinated in sweet-and-sour melancholy.

 

Duration: 70 min
English and Korean (with English surtitles)

 

 

Part of

A diaspora from an upbeat, culinary perspective.

Tuur Devens in Theaterkrant.nl, 27-08-24
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PRESS

"Haribo Kimchi is not just playful and comforting, not merely personal or political, not simply light or heavy, bitter or sweet – it is all of that at once. Perfectly balanced, like the exquisite flavor of umami." - Jury report het TheaterFestival, 05-06-25

"Haribo kimchi is a performance as sophisticated as it is seasoned about living in a country that is not your own. Not only love, melancholy also goes through the stomach." - Floris Baeke en Charlotte De Somviele in De Standaard -★★★★, 19-08-24

"A performance that inimitably blends Korean cooking with personal stories and reflections on comfort food, identity and migration." - Pieter T‘Jonck in pzazz, 19-08-24

"A diaspora from an upbeat, culinary perspective." - Tuur Devens in Theaterkrant.nl, 27-08-24

"Jaha Koo cleverly mixes his childhood memories with Korean cooking." - Annette Embrechts in de Volkskrant - ★★★★, 27-09-24

"After this performance, kimchi won't taste the same again." - Gigi van Erven Dorens in 8WEEKLY - ★★★★, 27-09-24

Credits

Concept, text, direction, music, sound & video Jaha Koo performance Gona, Haribo, Eel, Jaha Koo & two guests dramaturgy Dries Douibi scenography, research collaboration & media operation Eunkyung Jeong artistic advice Pol Heyvaert technical coordination Korneel Coessens technique Bart Huybrechts, Tom Daniels & Jasse Vergauwe production coordination Wim Clapdorp English proofreading Jason Wrubell snail animation Vincent Lynen production CAMPO coproduction Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels), Rideau de Bruxelles, Theater Utrecht, SPRING festival (Utrecht), Festival d’Automne à Paris, Théâtre de la Bastille (Paris), Tangente St. Pölten – Festival für Gegenwartskultur, &Espoo theatre (Espoo), International Summer Festival Kampnagel (Hamburg), Sophiensaele (Berlin), Meet You Festival (Valladolid), Bunker (Ljubljana), National Theatre and Concert Hall Taipei, The Divine Comedy International Theater Festival / Teatr Łaźnia Nowa (Kraków) & Perpodium with the support of the taxshelter of the Belgian Federal Government via Cronos Invest & the Flemish Government

The prototype of the eel was developed as part of Innovation:Lab's funnel in co-production with Theater Utrecht and creative technologists Adriaan Wormgoor & Willem Vooijs. 

Past touring dates

 

10 MAY 24 - 20:00 - KUNSTENFESTIVALDESARTS, BRUSSEL (BELGIUM) (CANCELLED)
11 MAY 24 - 15:00 - KUNSTENFESTIVALDESARTS, BRUSSEL (BELGIUM) (CANCELLED)
11 MAY 24 - 18:00 - KUNSTENFESTIVALDESARTS, BRUSSEL (BELGIUM) (CANCELLED)
12 MAY 24 - 20:00 - KUNSTENFESTIVALDESARTS, BRUSSEL (BELGIUM) (CANCELLED)
14 MAY 24 - 18:00 - KUNSTENFESTIVALDESARTS, BRUSSEL (BELGIUM) (CANCELLED)
14 MAY 24 - 21:00 - KUNSTENFESTIVALDESARTS, BRUSSEL (BELGIUM) (CANCELLED)
15 MAY 24 - 20:00 - KUNSTENFESTIVALDESARTS, BRUSSEL (BELGIUM) (CANCELLED)
24 MAY 24 - 20:00 - SOUTHBANK CENTRE, LONDON (ENGELAND) (CANCELLED)
25 MAY 24 - 16:00  - SOUTHBANK CENTRE, LONDON (ENGELAND) (CANCELLED)
25 MAY 24 - 20:00  - SOUTHBANK CENTRE, LONDON (ENGELAND) (CANCELLED)
29 MAY 24 - 18:30 - SPRING PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL, UTRECHT (THE NETHERLANDS) (CANCELLED)
30 MAY 24 - 18:30 - SPRING PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL, UTRECHT (THE NETHERLANDS) (CANCELLED)
31 MAY 24 - 20:30 - SPRING PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL, UTRECHT (THE NETHERLANDS) (CANCELLED)
27 JUN 24 - 20:00 - TANGENTE ST-PÖLTEN, ST-PÖLTEN (OOSTENRIJK)
28 JUN 24 - 20:00 - TANGENTE ST-PÖLTEN, ST-PÖLTEN (OOSTENRIJK)
01 AUG 24 - 20:30 - THEATER AAN ZEE, OOSTENDE (BELGIUM)
02 AUG 24 - 15:30 - THEATER AAN ZEE, OOSTENDE (BELGIUM)
02 AUG 24 - 20:30 - THEATER AAN ZEE, OOSTENDE (BELGIUM)
08 AUG 24 - 19:00 - INTERNATIONAL SUMMER FESTIVAL OF KAMPNAGEL, HAMBURG (GERMANY)
09 AUG 24 - 19:00 - INTERNATIONAL SUMMER FESTIVAL OF KAMPNAGEL, HAMBURG (GERMANY)
10 AUG 24 - 18:00 - INTERNATIONAL SUMMER FESTIVAL OF KAMPNAGEL, HAMBURG (GERMANY)
10 AUG 24 - 21:00 - INTERNATIONAL SUMMER FESTIVAL OF KAMPNAGEL, HAMBURG (GERMANY)
30 AUG 24 - MLADI LEVI - BUNKER PRODUCTIONS, LJUBLJANA (SLOVENIA)
31AUG 24 - MLADI LEVI - BUNKER PRODUCTIONS, LJUBLJANA (SLOVENIA)
21 SEP 24 - 20:00 - SPRING FESTIVAL X THEATER UTRECHT, UTRECHT (THE NETHERLANDS)
22 SEP 24 - 15:00 - SPRING FESTIVAL X THEATER UTRECHT, UTRECHT (THE NETHERLANDS)
22 SEP 24 - 20:00 - SPRING FESTIVAL X THEATER UTRECHT, UTRECHT (THE NETHERLANDS)
25 OCT 24 - 19:00 - KYOTO EXPERIMENT, KYOTO (JAPAN)
26 OCT 24 - 14:30  - KYOTO EXPERIMENT, KYOTO (JAPAN)
27 OCT 24 - 18:00  - KYOTO EXPERIMENT, KYOTO (JAPAN)
13 NOV 24 - 20:30 - CAMPO NIEUWPOORT, GENT (BELGIUM)
14 NOV 24 - 20:30 - CAMPO NIEUWPOORT, GENT (BELGIUM)
22 NOV 24 - SOPHIENSAELE, BERLIJN (GERMANY)
23 NOV 24 - SOPHIENSAELE, BERLIJN (GERMANY)
29 NOV 24 - LUX, NIJMEGEN (THE NETHERLANDS)
09 DEC 24 - 20:00 - FESTIVAL D'AUTOMNE À PARIS, PARIJS (FRANCE)
10 DEC 24 - 20:00 - FESTIVAL D'AUTOMNE À PARIS, PARIJS (FRANCE)
11 DEC 24 - 20:00 - FESTIVAL D'AUTOMNE À PARIS, PARIJS (FRANCE)
13 DEC 24 - 20:00 - FESTIVAL D'AUTOMNE À PARIS, PARIJS (FRANCE)
14 DEC 24 - 18:00 - FESTIVAL D'AUTOMNE À PARIS, PARIJS (FRANCE)
26 FEB 25 - 20:30 - CAMPO NIEUWPOORT, GENT (BELGIUM)
27 FEB 25 - 20:30 - CAMPO NIEUWPOORT, GENT (BELGIUM)
05 MAR 25 - 19:00 - MEETYOU FESTIVAL, VALLADOLLID (SPAIN)
06 MAR 25 - 20:00  - MEETYOU FESTIVAL, VALLADOLLID (SPAIN)
08 MAR 25 - 20:00 - CONDE DUQUE, MADRID (SPAIN)
09 MAR 25 - 19:00  - CONDE DUQUE, MADRID (SPAIN)
13 MAR 25 - 19:30 - TEATRO MUNICIPAL DO PORTO, PORTO (PORTUGAL)
14 MAR 25 - 19:30 TEATRO MUNICIPAL DO PORTO, PORTO (PORTUGAL)
19 MAR 25 - 20:15 - THEATER ROTTERDAM, ROTTERDAM (THE NETHERLANDS)
20 MAR 25 - 20:15 - THEATER ROTTERDAM, ROTTERDAM (THE NETHERLANDS)
24 APR 25 - 19:00 - TEATR ŁAŹNIA NOWA, KRAKOW (POLAND)
25 APR 25 - 19:00  - TEATR ŁAŹNIA NOWA, KRAKOW (POLAND)
29 APR 25 - 20:30 - NONA, MECHELEN (BELGIUM)
13 MAY 25 - 20:00 - SOUTHBANK CENTRE,  LONDON (ENGELAND)
14 MAY 25 - 20:00 - SOUTHBANK CENTRE,  LONDON (ENGELAND)
21 MAY 25 - 20:00 - KUNSTENFESTIVALDESARTS, BRUSSEL (BELGIUM)
22 MAY 25 - 21:00 - KUNSTENFESTIVALDESARTS, BRUSSEL (BELGIUM)
23 MAY 25 - 19:00 - KUNSTENFESTIVALDESARTS, BRUSSEL (BELGIUM)
24 MAY 25 - 16:00 - KUNSTENFESTIVALDESARTS, BRUSSEL (BELGIUM)
24 MAY 25 - 20:00 - KUNSTENFESTIVALDESARTS, BRUSSEL (BELGIUM)
25 MAY 25 - 16:00 - KUNSTENFESTIVALDESARTS, BRUSSEL (BELGIUM)
29 MAY 25 - 19:30 - KUNSTFESTSPIELE HERRENHAUSEN, HANNOVER (GERMANY)
20 JUN 25 - 21:00 - IMPULSE FESTIVAL, KEULEN, DÜSSELDORF, MÜLHEIM A/D RUHR (GERMANY)
21 JUN 25 - 21:00  - IMPULSE FESTIVAL, KEULEN, DÜSSELDORF, MÜLHEIM A/D RUHR (GERMANY)
21 JUN 25 - 21:00  - IMPULSE FESTIVAL, KEULEN, DÜSSELDORF, MÜLHEIM A/D RUHR (GERMANY)
27 JUN 25 - 20:00 - LATITUDES CONTEMPORAINES, LILLE (FRANCE)
12 JUL 25 - 20:30 - CHASSÉ THEATER, BREDA (THE NETHERLANDS)
01 AUG 25 - 20:00 - ESPLANADE, THEATRES ON THE BAY, SINGAPORE (SINGAPORE)
02 AUG 25 - 20:00 - ESPLANADE, THEATRES ON THE BAY, SINGAPORE (SINGAPORE)
03 AUG 25 - 15:00 - ESPLANADE, THEATRES ON THE BAY, SINGAPORE (SINGAPORE)
04 SEP 25 - 20:30 - CAMPO NIEUWPOORT, GENT
05 SEP 25 - 20:30 - CAMPO NIEUWPOORT, GENT
07 SEP 25 - 20:00 - NEDERLANDS THEATERFESTIVAL, AMSTERDAM (THE NETHERLANDS)
08 SEP 25 - 20:00 - NEDERLANDS THEATERFESTIVAL, AMSTERDAM (THE NETHERLANDS)
18 SEP 25 - 18:30 - ESPOO CITY THEATRE, ESPOO (FINLAND)
19 SEP 25 - 18:30 - ESPOO CITY THEATRE, ESPOO (FINLAND)
20 SEP 25 - 15:00 - ESPOO CITY THEATRE, ESPOO (FINLAND)
27 SEP 25 - 20:00 - THEATER UTRECHT, UTRECHT (THE NETHERLANDS)
28 SEP 25 - 17:00 - THEATER UTRECHT, UTRECHT (THE NETHERLANDS)
16 OCT 25 - 20:00 - SEOUL PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVA, SEOUL (KOREA)
18 OCT 25 - 15:00 - SEOUL PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVA, SEOUL (KOREA)
19 OCT 25 - 15:00 - SEOUL PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVA, SEOUL (KOREA)
31 OCT 25 - 19:30 - NATIONAL THEATRE AND CONCERT HALL - NTCH, TAIPEI (TAIWAN)
01 NOV 25 - 14:30 - NATIONAL THEATRE AND CONCERT HALL - NTCH, TAIPEI (TAIWAN)
01 NOV 25 - 19:30 - NATIONAL THEATRE AND CONCERT HALL - NTCH, TAIPEI (TAIWAN)
02 NOV 25 - 19:30 - NATIONAL THEATRE AND CONCERT HALL - NTCH, TAIPEI (TAIWAN)

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