OnStage Korea
2023 Season Opening Performance

SaaWee and Hwang Gina 

Sunday, April 16 @ 5:00 p.m.
Union Stage at The Wharf
740 Water St. SW Washington, D.C. 20024

RSVP below for free tickets! 

The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC) proudly presents two acclaimed Korean artists who redefine traditional music with contemporary style, SaaWee and Hwang Gina, in a back-to-back performance at DC’s Union Stage at The Wharf on Sunday April 16 at 5:00 p.m. This first showcase of the KCCDC’s performing arts series OnStage Korea kicks off the 2023 Season with an eye-opening look at recent trends in Korean creative music—often inspired by but not bound by tradition—including music by Latin Grammy-winning artist Sita Chay of SaaWee.

SaaWee, comprised of Chay and percussionist Jihye Kim, will present their original work The Ritual of Le Sac in the first half, combining dynamic music and dance that draws inspiration from traditional Korean shamanistic performance and its cathartic spiritual impact. This performance includes an international collaboration with keyboardist Jason Lindner and contemporary dancer Sidra Bell.

Soloist Hwang Gina’s Scene: Geomungo Universe is a musical force of nature that fuses multiple rich aural traditions, including acoustic and electric string instruments as well as the iconic and evocative Korean geomungo, a 6-stringed Korean zither with a wide range of expression.

Combining their own unique personal style and musical vibes, these two groups represent the cutting-edge of contemporary creative music in Korea, where the line between traditional and pop culture is often blurred but the immersive audience experience remains paramount. This event is also part of a collection of cultural events celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance.

About the Performers

SaaWee was formed in 2018 with the goal of manifesting the spiritual aspects of Korean traditional music through the language of contemporary performance art in order to connect with global audiences. Having performed in New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Bogota, and Seoul, SaaWee intends each occasion to be unique, symbolizing the ephemeral nature of the moment and leading to creative collaborations with world artists. Artistically, SaaWee is a musical and spiritual journey inspired by traditional Korean shamanism and its performance rituals. SaaWee channels the electricity of the old and the new with an emphasis on musical fluidity, theatrical stage presence, and the incorporation of cross-cultural rhythms and melodies. The result is a uniquely rich sensory experience that transcends time and space.

SaaWee’s two members are Latin Grammy-winning violinist Sita Chay, based in New York, and Jihye Kim, provocative percussionist with the international ensemble FROMS. The duo was named a 2022 Creative Engagement Grantee by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), a program funded by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts, for their creative effort to foster emotional awareness through ritual music and dance. SaaWee has performed at many influential venues including Ars Electronica Festival, St. Ann’s Warehouse located in Brooklyn, Lincoln Center, the Korean Cultural Center New York, and the historic Flushing Town Hall.

The Ritual of Le Sac

The Ritual of Le Sac is a narrative musical fantasy inspired by the mysterious life of an unborn baby swimming in the womb. The project was intended to recreate this universal experience of a memory behind the veil, and the transformative journey into the world. SaaWee recognizes that life and death are cyclical, and borrows from the wisdom of nature to confront the inevitable sense of loss that life entails. Only when we tap into our innate nature to create, connect, and harmonize is transformation possible. We dance and sing to overcome loss, and the new ritual can transform loss into hope.

Sita Chay | Director / Violinist / Composer

Jihye Kim | Percussionist / Composer

Jason Lindner | Keyboardist

Sidra Bell | Contemporary Dancer

Do You Remember Where You Came From?

Like a Fish

Breathe Out the Water, Breathe in the Air

Return

Hwang Gina has been reinterpreting the Korean geomungo zither as a modern solo instrument since 2017. Capitalizing on the instrument’s unique sound and vibrating physical presence, Hwang expands the infinite possibilities of traditional music with her sensuous creations, crossing genre boundaries of post-rock, neo-classical, and techno. Her second full-length album Short Film (2022) was well received in Korea for its new interpretation of classic repertoires, as well as its sound design and music production based on the unique aural attributes of the geomungo.

Scene: Geomungo Universe

Hwang Gina’s concert Scene: Geomungo Universe offers a surprisingly expansive landscape of sound, touching on many key elements of music with a single instrument: the iconic and ancient geomungo. The instrument’s infinite charm is exhibited through both traditional and unconventional techniques. Hwang strives to tell an atmospheric story with her music, using what she calls a “descriptive voice” created through the strings of her instrument. This landscape of melody unfolds through shifting sounds that invite the audience into a musical world, akin an engrossing film.

Hwang Gina | Geomungo

Dasurum

Everything is Scattered

Wish

Dawn

Ghetto

Peace

Huimori

Constant

Short Film

About OnStage Korea

OnStage Korea presented by the Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. seeks to discover brilliant Korean and Korean-inspired artists and groups performing around the world, giving them an opportunity to showcase their creativity on stage for the American public in the Capital region. The program also fosters international cultural exchange by expanding the visibility of Korean performing arts and artists in mainstream America. Featuring a diverse range of new artists each year, OnStage Korea presents unique, exceptional performances free to the public in and around Washington, D.C.