Text and photos by CHOI Yoon-woo (parodia@hanmail.net).
Korean Theatre Review (September 2009)

The role played by Director CHOI Jun-ho in the domestic culture and arts sector was literally omnidirectional. He was a regular host of academic seminars and debates and managed theaters and festivals. He also played a pivotal role in devising supporting policies for culture and arts. He came up with solutions to many problems by tackling them from an objective standpoint and took action to make a difference.

One day, in June 2007, Choi was suddenly named director of the Korean Culture Center in France. (Later, it turned out, he had been preparing for that move a long time). In October of the same year, he wrapped up his domestic activities and left for France -- great news for the center in France because he was more than qualified but a big loss for Korea’s culture sector back home.
When I met Choi in July 2009 in Avignon, he was as busy as ever. The center’s projects to support Korean artists in France and raise awareness of Korean culture among the French public were gradually gaining pace. I wanted to ask him about many things and hear many stories. He began the conversation by describing differences in public awareness of culture and philosophical principles.

The following is my interview with CHOI Jun-ho

How have you been creating culture that involves people?

Until recently, the center mostly held cultural events on a unilateral basis. But I found that method useless in publicizing Korean culture and improving its international recognition. I believed that we needed to help Korean culture naturally assimilate into the everyday lives of French people. All of our current projects have been designed with that purpose. We offer six Korean-language courses and classes in calligraphy, Korean painting, traditional knot-making, paper art, Pansori and Samulnori. We also hold exhibitions of Korean paintings that were drawn not by Korean artists but by French people. Interest in and demand for Korean art have been on the rise here. Not so long ago, we held a festival for children for the first time in 27 years. We wanted to present French children with an opportunity to experience Korean culture at an early age by learning Korean traditional music, mime and fairy tales. That’s the best way to publicize Korean culture.

What are the key differences in philosophical beliefs and public awareness?

The difference in the public awareness of culture and in philosophical beliefs is huge between Korea and France. For example, when artists in France run red lights when driving, they are usually forgiven. That’s how much they are respected in this country. The French public understands the importance and value of art in society. That’s profoundly different from the Korean public. Partnerships and specific, long-term plans are essential in work. Though our center can’t directly support performance groups, it can connect theaters and groups and help artists find partners. But that requires specific, long-term programs. In Korea, everything is planned just one year or even a few months in advance. That’s enough time in Korea to devise schedules and book theaters. But here, in France, programs are decided at least two or three years in advance. Renting a theater is quite unusual in France. You have to “plan” a theater and find programs that suit it. That’s why nobody will listen to you here if you start organizing things just one year in advance. If Korean performance troupes took that into account and set their plans beforehand, more of them could perform in France with the help of our center or my personal partners. Like I said earlier, I have much to do here in France. I have to come up with ways to help Korean culture naturally assimilate into the everyday lives of French people and help more Korean troupes and artists debut in France. I’m working hard to make that happen.