With the G20 summit only days ahead, various cultural events are going on in Seoul to celebrate the international event and promote Korean culture to foreign visitors. Here are some of the best ones you might want to mark on your calendar.

Concerts and Performances

To the excitement of many classical music fans, Sejong Cultural Center for the Performing Arts in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, will hold “The Concert celebrating the Seoul G20 Summit” on Nov. 7, featuring the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.

World-renowned conductor Chung Myung-whun will twirl the baton for Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 “Titan” and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. Chung has stirred up a Mahler craze this year by conducting the number on many occasions ever since he took the position as SPO’s music director.

Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 will be jointly performed with pianist Jo Seong-jin, an up-and-coming pianist who is rewriting the world’s music history of youngest winners by sweeping first place in many domestic and international competitions.

Around 3,000 people, including ambassadors and other officials, are expected to attend the concert, which is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

For more information, visit www.sejongpac.or.kr.

Korean traditional performances are scheduled during the two-day summit period for diplomatic delegations and representatives from international organizations.

The National Center for the Korean Traditional Performing Arts in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul, will hold a special performance titled “Korea, the Beauty of Korea” which will introduce five Korean traditional dances and performances which are listed as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.

Starting with a performance of “Jongmyo Jeryeak,” Korean royal ancestral rites and ritual music, the audience will see a set of “pansori,” or Korean operas, and “Cheoyongmu,” a court mask dance based on a Korean legend, “ganggangsullae,” a traditional circle dance, and finally “namsadang nori,” a street performance traditionally performed by wayfaring male entertainers. 

The show will take place from Nov. 11 to 12. It is open to those with invitations, but you can make reservations at the center’s website if you do not have an invitation. For more information, visit www.gugak.go.kr.

The National Theater of Korea in Jangchung-dong, central Seoul, will host a traditional musical performance called “Cheong” by The National Changgeuk Company of Korea on Nov. 12.

The performance will be about Sim Cheong, a daughter who threw herself into the ocean to make her blind father see again, which is a tale long engraved in the hearts of Koreans.

For details, visit www.ntok.go.kr.

Art and artifacts exhibitions

The National Museum of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, is showcasing around 60 Buddhist paintings from the Goryeo Dynasty at the special exhibition “Masterpieces of Goryeo Buddhist Painting A Long Lost Look after 700 Years.”

Among about 160 Goryeo Buddhist paintings estimated to exist in the world, 27 from Japan, 15 from the U.S. and Europe, and 19 from Korean collections are showcased at the exhibition.

Twenty Buddhist paintings from China’s Southern Song and Yuan Dynasties and Japan’s Kamakura period are also on display, allowing visitors to compare Buddhist paintings from the three different countries. The exhibition runs through Nov. 21.

The museum also provides docent programs for current exhibitions as well, including a program introducing 20 of the museum’s representative relics.

For details, visit www.museum.go.kr.

National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, is planning two special exhibitions.

One of them is “Made in Popland,” an art exhibition that will introduce pop art from Korea, China and Japan.

About 250 artworks by 39 representative pop artists from the three countries, including Hong Gyeong-taek and Go Young-hun from Korea, Wang Guangyi and Feng Mengbo from China, and Yanobe Kenji and Takashi Murakami from Japan, will be showcased. The exhibition starts on Nov. 11 and runs until Feb. 20, 2011.

The museum will unveil some of the important new media art works from its collection just in time for the G20 summit. About 15 new sculptures, installations and media art are shown in and out of the museum already, and will be there until the first half of next year.

For more information about the exhibitions, call (02) 2188-6000 or visit www.moca.go.kr.

Arko Art Center in Hyehwa-dong, central Seoul, decided to take this timely opportunity to shed light on one of the most imminent global issues, sustainable environment.

At the exhibition titled “Greening Green 2010,” 13 artists and artist groups from nine countries including Argentina, Britain, China, India, Iran, Germany, Korea, Japan and U.S., will showcase various genres of works that feature environmental issues.

Iranian artist and critic Ahmad Nadalian, for example, took photos and filmed video footage during his bicycle trip around the world to remind viewers about the importance of water. Chinese artist Yao Lu painted garbage in traditional landscape style.

The exhibition runs from Nov. 9 to 28. For details, visit www.arkocenter.or.kr.

Arko Art Center, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Deoksugung, in central Seoul, and Soma Museum of Art, in Bangi-dong, eastern Seoul, have jointly designated a Museum Week, which runs from Nov. 9 to Nov. 14.

During the week, the three museums offer different workshops, performances, film screenings and lectures and visitors can see exhibitions for free or at a discounted price.

For details on the program, visit the museums’ websites. Information on Soma Museum of Art can be found at www.somamuseum.org.

By Park Min-young  (claire@heraldcorp.com)