Bu-Ji-Hwa to hold its 20th act in Cebu, Philippines

CEBU CITY, Philippines- They do not perform to the usual K-pop beat that you are used  to but the group promises to bring the beat of the traditional Korea music to the young fans of the Hallyu Wave in the Philippines.

Korean group Bu-Ji-Hwa has been performing for some 5,000 young students here every year since 2003. The group consists of artists, who are licensed dancers and performers of the different forms of folk and shamanism dances.  They are part of the intangible cultural heritage of Korea.

Bu-Ji-Hwa will be performing in Cebu on January 14, 2020, their 20th performance in the Philippines.   The event called “K-Arirang Traditional Artists and Masters Performance” will be held at The Sisters of Mary School-Boys Town and will be attended by 5,000 students.

“The annual performance began out of a promise that Lim Yi-jo, late teacher and performer of Korean folk and traditional dance, made to young students in the Philippines when he visited the country,” said Kang Hyun-jun, Bu-Ji-Hwa director.

“Lim had promised that he would perform for them the traditional dances at least once a year for free. Other artists and dancers of all skills and ages joined in over the years,” he added.

All of the Bu-Ji-Hwa performances are free of charge because of the voluntary participation of its artists.

“It wasn’t easy to maintain the performance every year given that the artists were participating out of their own pocket,” Kang said. “But thanks to the enthusiasm of students in the Philippines, Bu-Ji-Hwa was able to return year after year.”

Bu-Ji-Hwa in Korean means “even after seeing a painting in a bright daylight, one does not recognize what it is.” The group was introduced in a textbook for sixth graders in elementary schools in Korea in 2015 as an association of artists who perform for free to share Korea’s traditions abroad.

Their 20th performance in the Philippines will be joined by some 50 maestros including Lee Chun-hee (licensed signer of Gyeonggi Minyo, Korean Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity No. 57), Choi Kyung-man (licensed performer of Samhyun Yukgak, Seoul’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity No. 44), Yoo Ji-sook (licensed teacher of Seodosori, Important Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity No. 29), Kim Seung-hee (President of Association of Korean Traditional Music). Hwang JinKyung, Kang EunSuk, Kim Sung Sim, Jung Kyung Suk, and Moon Dong Ok. They will be performing a mix of traditional Korean music with instruments including the Korean drums, and will be singing folk songs such as Seodosori or Gyeonggi Minyo. / dcb