JEDDAH, 4 May 2003 — Long haul air passengers are often given tips on how to relax and exercise while in flight. Guests at the performance of a Korean cultural troupe at the Korean school here over the weekend had a similar experience.
One of the artists used the long breaks during the program to demonstrate simple exercises which can be done while seated. The audience followed his example and found the experience refreshing.
The six-member troupe from Seoul staged performances in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam and ended their tour with a final performance at Jeddah’s Korean school. Members of the Korean community and other expats were among those present.
The troupe staged ‘Samalori,’ which is music played by farmers to herald the harvest season. “The origin goes back some 5,000 years when farmers played music during their work to motivate people,” said Hee Jang, one of the performers. The troupe performed items in quick succession to the accompaniment of “jung” (a big brass plate), “kwangari” (a small brass plate), “jang-gu” (a kind of drum), “buk” (a big drum) and a small trumpet-like instrument.
“We go all over the world staging performances and we have come to the Kingdom at the invitation of LG Electronics,” one of the performers explained. “The idea in bringing them to the Kingdom was to give a glimpse of Korea’s rich culture to people here who are used to Korean products. Their rhythm symbolizes perfection, precision and coordination — factors that symbolize our products,” LG’s Deputy General Manager S.M. Arshad said.
