The 25th Seoul Performing Arts Festival (SPAF), South Korea's premier international performing arts event, will run from October 16 through November 9, 2025, across major Seoul venues including the National Theater of Korea, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, ARKO, and Daehakro Arts Theater. This year's festival will present 22 carefully curated works spanning theater, dance, and interdisciplinary art, accompanied by forums, workshops, and collaborative creation labs.
The 2025 festival operates under the theme "Entanglement and Friction," drawing inspiration from Korean-German philosopher Han Byung-chul's concept that genuine meaning and beauty arise not from perfection but from imperfection, conflict, negation, unfamiliarity, and contradiction. This philosophy stands in contrast to today's aesthetic experiences that increasingly seek smooth, clean, and uniform presentations. "We aim to discover new possibilities by looking at the diverse discourses and changing artistic languages of contemporary society through points of tension and friction," said SPAF Artistic Director Choi Kyu during a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday.
The festival explores contemporary questions along four main themes: innovative relationships between art, science, and technology; expanded and transformed performance languages of sound and new music; contemporary dance vocabularies reimagined through collaboration with Dance Reflection by Van Cleef & Arpels; and perspectives on current issues from artists throughout the Asia-Pacific region. These themes aim to examine the complexity of our current era and its evolving artistic forms through the lens of entanglement and friction.
Several notable theater productions will headline the festival. Polish director Lukasz Twarkowski's "The Employees" adapts Danish author Olga Ravn's International Booker Prize-shortlisted novel about humans and humanoids working together aboard a spaceship, raising questions about identity and labor in the modern world. French artist David Geselson's "Neandertal" revisits groundbreaking DNA research, inviting audiences into the lives of dedicated scientists who have fundamentally reshaped our understanding of human origins and evolution.
The sound and new music program features innovative performances that push artistic boundaries. Singaporean pianist Margaret Leng Tan will present "Dragon Ladies Don't Weep," a theatrical reflection on her personal artistic journey and experiences. Japanese artist Asuna's "100 Keyboards" transforms resonance and interference from 100 toy keyboards into an immersive soundscape that challenges traditional musical presentations. Chinese-Australian artist William Yang's "Milestone" combines photography, music, and storytelling to reflect on his experiences as both an immigrant and queer artist navigating multiple cultural identities.
Dance works developed through international collaboration demonstrate how choreography continues to evolve while engaging with social discourse and local contexts. Key performances include "Room With a View" by (La) Horde with Ballet national de Marseille, Belgian choreographer Jan Martens' "The Dog Days Are Over 2.0," and Korean choreographer Heo Seong-im's "1 Degree Celsius." These works showcase the expanding vocabulary of contemporary dance and its ability to address current social issues.
The festival also highlights perspectives from Asia-Pacific artists addressing regional and global concerns. Korean artist Koo Ja-ha's "Haribo Kimchi" explores immigrant identity and cultural assimilation through the lens of food and robotic performers, examining how cultural boundaries blur in globalized societies. Thai director Wichaya Artamat's "Baan Cult, Muang Cult" boldly dismantles taboos surrounding Thailand's military, religion, and monarchy, offering critical perspectives on power structures and social norms.
The festival's comprehensive approach reflects SPAF's commitment to presenting cutting-edge international work while fostering dialogue about contemporary society's complexities. For complete details about performances, scheduling, and ticket information, audiences can visit the official SPAF website.
