The performance venue has been transformed into a festival ground. When K-pop music plays, children come onto the stage and follow the choreography as participants in the 'random play dance.' This is how Seoul Land has turned spectator-oriented programs into participatory experiences.
Seoul Land said on the first that it is currently hosting the K-Dopamine Ghost Festival as part of its fall season. The festival consists of participatory content combining K-pop with ghost characters. The K-Ghost Random Play Dance is a prime example. When the Ghost Dancer Crew, featuring grim reapers, gumihos, witches and Draculas, dances to K-pop, visitors also take the stage and dance along.
Although the program began last May, participation has grown noticeably in recent weeks. It was initially held near Ojingeo Munbanggu, but was moved to Seoul Land's main performance venue, Jigubyeol Stage, as attendance increased. Seoul Land said that hundreds of children now take part in each session. The influx of children onto the stage appears to reflect the fact that K-pop dance has become a form of play culture in which they follow along themselves, rather than simply watch a performance.
The addition of a ghost theme has also proved effective. Korean-style characters such as grim reapers and gumihos dance alongside the children. Every Saturday, 4D Label, a dance training brand specializing in kids and juniors, joins the program and presents K-pop performances.
Seoul Land has also prepared participatory content using singing and situational comedy, in addition to dance. In the K-Ghost Singing Contest, visitors take the stage and sing themselves. The program is designed to allow adults as well as children to participate. K-Ghost Prank Call turns visitors into characters in the performance. Under the premise that a ghost comes looking for a participant after the participant calls it, participants must move around while avoiding the ghost that appears at the venue during the actual phone call. Unlike conventional performances, in which audiences watch the action from their seats, the content unfolds according to the participants' actions.
A Seoul Land official said, "The atmosphere at the K-Ghost Random Play Dance has been so lively that hundreds of children participate in every session." The official added, "Rather than simply watching and enjoying K-culture, participants dance and sing themselves, interact with K-ghosts and enjoy becoming the protagonists of the content."
Reporter Kim Se-hyeong fax123@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
