WEBZINE ACC

You are invited to the Island of Eating Alone.
Welcome to the paradise of solo dining!
“Whispers at the Table”

“Whispers at the Table” captures the stories of those who subscribe to the phenomenon of “honbap,” or eating alone. There’s joy in meals shared with others, but sometimes, one wants to enjoy one’s meal without interruption. When one focuses on the act of eating alone, one is brought face-to-face with one’s deep self. Director Yoo Sun-hoo of “Whispers at the Table” describes “honbap” as a way of “filling oneself” in today’s society characterized by complex human relationships. Let’s hear from director Yoo Sun-hoo:

“Whispers at the Table” Director Yoo Sun-hoo interview

• Can you give us a short introduction to the work “Whispers at the Table”?

  “Whispers at the Table” is a dance theater piece where the protagonist, who likes to eat alone, journeys to the fantastic “Island of Eating Alone.”

• How did you come to this idea?

  For me, the first thing that comes to my mind about dining tables is not the food but the idea that it is a “space” where one captures time dedicated solely to oneself. As I researched and pondered the theme of “table and memory” with the ACC, I focused on the contemporary social phenomenon of “honbap” (eating alone), and I pondered, “Why has it become a world where people are comfortable eating alone?” So, from the thought of the dining table as a place where the people of today can replenish themselves in society, this fantastic journey was born.

• What was the creation process of this performance like?

  When I was chosen as a director in the “2023 ACC Asia Content Performance Development Contest,” I worked with the ACC to research and eventually put together a 30-minute showcase (screened December 2023). If the showcase had delivered the flow of the performance with atmosphere and imagery alone, this year’s main performance includes new actors working together with dancers, adding drama and engaging theatrical features into a 60-minute dance theater.

• What was it like for you to be chosen for the ACC Asia Content Performance Development Contest, and how was the creative process?

  During the creative process with the ACC, I thought a lot about how I wish that many dancers could be given such great opportunities to work in a better environment and go through a systematic research process with experts in each field, solving their problems one by one. As a choreographer and dancer, I have experienced frustration in the creative process, and I am grateful for the opportunity to share that pain systematically.

• “ACC Asia Content Performance Development Contest” had the theme of “table and memory”. What characteristic of the “table” did you focus on?

  The table tells a lot of stories: “What kind of table do I want to sit at in society? Where do I want to eat? What do I want to look at as I eat? Who do I interact with every day at the table? Who do I have no choice but to interact with?” I noted that the table is the most delicious and precious place resembling my heart, like a “mirror, a repository of infinite depth.” I wondered if our age of nuclear individualism has led to an age of “solitude,” where we crave “the full replenishment of one’s self alone” through the act of “honbap.”

• What element of tables, as the theme, led you to take part in this project? Did the way you remember the table, as a being or an object, change over the year you spent working with it?

  Initially, I came into this project with the theme of human solitude simply because I had Edward Hopper’s images of people sitting alone at the table in mind. After a year of working on the theme, I realized that the table is really a repository of one’s life in many ways and that it’s a great place for new stories to emerge because we fill it with a lot of things for ourselves, but we also share it with others.

• What stories do you want to deliver to the audience members through this performance?

  “Do you like honbap? I’m an extreme introvert, so I find spending time with many people draining and tiring. I choose honbap to give some respite to my heart, if only for the mealtime. Are you like that, too? How do you enjoy the time you spend alone?” Rather than throwing edifying messages like “Is honbap good or bad?” or “Do we need honbap?” I wanted to use this question as the starting point of our conversation. You know, like how Koreans sometimes greet each other with “Have you eaten today?” as a way to check on another person.

My father, old-fashioned “Western” restaurants, and remembering the things that are pushed aside and disappear
“Fine Dining”

“Fine Dining” traces the life and work of a father who worked as a head chef in an old-fashioned “Western” restaurant, unfolding his “table and memory” onstage. What do tables hold for Director Kim Mi-ran? Let’s hear from the director herself.

“Fine Dining” Director Kim Mi-ran interview

• Can you give us a short introduction to the work “Fine Dining”?

  When I saw the theme “table and memory,” I remembered my father’s career as a “Western-style” chef. “Fine Dining” began as a way for me to tell the story of my father’s work. I remember my father engaging in culinary labor faithfully for a long time, but he was eventually pushed aside by the rapidly changing social atmosphere. When I see the Korean pork cutlet (donkkaseu), I think of my father, Mr. Kim Yong-hak. That dish captures the 30 years of his life and work and our family’s time. The work is a way for us to face our fathers, mothers, and ourselves, and how we lived through an age and are living through another.

• What led you to capture your father’s story in the performance?

  The changes in culinary culture brought to Korea by the 1997 Financial Crisis changed a lot of things for my father’s work. As his daughter, I witnessed all that and felt really sorry for him. When I saw the theme for the contest, I had the “eureka!” moment for myself: This was my chance to remember my father’s life and work, captured in this dish, and to share that recollection with others.

• What element of tables as the theme led you to partake in this project?

  A table can mean a lot of things, but when “memory” was placed together, that brought my father’s “Western-style pork cutlet” (donkkaseu) immediately came to mind. Over the years, I vaguely developed the idea of creating a story about food someday. When I came across this topic and thought my father could be frying the cutlets again, I eagerly signed up for the contest, my head full of interesting ideas.

• Did how you remember the table as a being or an object change over the year you spent working with it?

  The year-long process of researching, writing, and developing the performance has changed and grown in different directions. I discovered that contrary to my simplified understanding of the dish the Korean “donkkaseu” has a lot of history, having been introduced during the Japanese occupation. My father’s “history of labor migration,” which I discovered while interviewing him, captured his sense of responsibility to his family and his sincere love for cooking. Developing the play from a pilot performance to the main production involved revising the script and putting in creative additions based on real-life stories. In this process, the meaning of labor was expanded to include the stories of a mother and daughter (myself) who witnessed the father’s labor. Through this work, I came to conceptualize the space of the dining table as a space holding crystallized fragments of people’s desires and stories.

• What was it like for you to be chosen for the ACC Asia Content Performance Development Contest, and how was the creative process?

  After being selected for the program, I found out that my father had colon cancer and was undergoing a biopsy, and that made me think a lot about how to face his story so that I could be authentic as a person and a creator. The day of my father’s interview, I went home and felt grateful to be doing this work because his life as a chef and his donkkaseu, which he led with such integrity, might have disappeared the moment he died, as if they never happened. I am grateful to be able to share what I, my father, and my mother remember and see through this performance..

• What stories do you want to deliver to the audience members through this performance?

  I believe that looking into the individual’s life is a way to discover and record new history. So, I like to create performances that draw out the experiences and memories of people living in this era rather than the stories of special heroes. Through the story of my father, Kim Young-hak, who has lived faithfully, I want to share that I want to acknowledge and respect the hard work that he has done from the perspective of labor. I also hope that it will raise many questions that can sustain life for my mother, Park Kyeong-yeon, who had lost herself for a long time by placing herself on the periphery and for many others who are working hard to realize their lives.

As I wrap up this piece, I somehow came to the idea that maybe I should have a “honbap” by myself, with donkkaseu as the dish of choice. One can see the dance theater “Whispers at the Table on Jun. 21–22 (FRI–SAT), while the theatrical work “Fine Dining” will be put on stage on Jun. 28–29 (FRI–SAT).

[Theatrical Work] Fine DiningClick to go to the respective page.

[Dance Drama] Whispers at the TableClick to go to the respective page.