Hong Kong Week 2025@Seoul showcases arts and cultural strengths and diversity (with photos)
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HK Week@Seoul will premiere tomorrow (July 25) with the pre-festival "Wu Guanzhong Art Sponsorship Overseas Exhibition Series: Wu Guanzhong: Between Black and White", where 17 masterworks by the great Chinese painter Wu Guanzhong (1919-2010) from the collection of the Hong Kong Museum of Art will be exhibited for the first time in Korea, offering the audience a glimpse into his poetic world of ink and oil.
The grand opening programme of HK Week@Seoul, "Romeo + Juliet" by Hong Kong Ballet, is choreographed by Septime Webre to reinterpret Shakespeare's classic love story with Hong Kong in the 1960s as the backdrop, presenting Hong Kong's East-meets-West artistic style.
Dance highlights include the grand dance poem "A Dance of Celestial Rhythms" by the Hong Kong Dance Company, which integrates dance and lights inspired by the ancient Solar Terms; "Mr Blank 2.0" by the City Contemporary Dance Company, which explores disorientation and awakening of human nature through the interplay of physical space and digital projections; and "CollabAsia", a collaboration between the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and Sungkyunkwan University in Korea showcasing cross-cultural exchange between students.
For music, the concert "Yan Huichang & Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra" will present various captivating music pieces in partnership with Korean musicians Kim Suin and Park Joonho as well as the Wizard Children's Choir. The concert "Lio Kuokman, Yekwon Sunwoo & Hong Kong Philharmonic" will feature an orchestral concert led by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra's Resident Conductor Lio Kuokman and Korean pianist Yekwon Sunwoo, performing a wide range of classical works from the contemporary and romantic eras.
Pop culture will be highlighted by "ImagineLand@Seoul", an outdoor concert bringing together Hong Kong and Korean singers, including Jonathan Wong and Korean singer Lena Park, for a vibrant showcase of pop music. The concert will also include classical music and original soundtracks from classic Korean dramas and Hong Kong movies. The concert will be followed by a screening of Hong Kong's classic movie "An Autumn's Tale" (1987), starring Chow Yun-fat and Cherie Chung.
Film enthusiasts can enjoy two programmes. "'Movies-to-GO' - Border Crossings in Hong Kong Cinema - Korea" will screen two Hong Kong-Korean co-productions and four Hong Kong classic movies from the 1960s to 1980s, including the world premiere of a 4K digital restoration of "The Story of a Discharged Prisoner" (1967). "Making Waves - Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema" will screen more recent Hong Kong productions that reflect the city's evolving cinematic voice.
Two programmes supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) are "Travel of the Soul: Echoes after Time", a dance piece by choreographer Terry Tsang collaborating with Korean dance luminaries, and "HKADC x BAC: Asian Modern Symphony Orchestra with Wilson Ng", a concert where conductor Wilson Ng will lead musicians from Hong Kong, Korea and other parts of Asia to perform classical music spanning different eras and places, including a performance by renowned Hong Kong pianist Wong KaJeng.
The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency will launch two exhibitions. The "Hong Kong Comics and Culture Exhibition" will present over 80 exhibits from Hong Kong's martial arts-themed and satirical comic works, including classics such as "Old Master Q" and "My Boy", as well as the successful cross-sectoral collaboration between Hong Kong's comics and film and television. "LOCAL POWER Hong Kong Fashion Show and Exhibition in Seoul" will showcase approximately 110 fashion pieces by designers from Hong Kong and other cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and from Korea, while staging a fashion presentation blending AI technology with Cantopop and K-pop.
Information on the dates and venues of the above programmes is set out in the Annex. Tickets for "Romeo + Juliet" and the concert "Yan Huichang & Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra" will be available for sale from tomorrow (July 25). Tickets for "A Dance of Celestial Rhythms", the concert "Lio Kuokman, Yekwon Sunwoo & Hong Kong Philharmonic" and "Mr Blank 2.0" will be available for sale from August 8. For details, please visit www.hongkongweek.gov.hk.
Ends/Thursday, July 24, 2025
Issued at HKT 16:55
Issued at HKT 16:55
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