Korean performing arts, widening distribution and exchange to the global stage; ‘2026 Seoul Arts Market’ opens on October 13 - 스포츠경향

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Supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Choi Hwi-Young) and the Arts Council Korea (Chair Lee Beom-Heon), and co-hosted by the Korea Arts Management Service (President Kim Jang-Ho) and the National Theater of Korea (Acting Theater Director Kim Seok-Il), ‘2026 Seoul Arts Market (Performing Arts Market in Seoul, hereafter PAMS)’ will be held across Seoulincluding the National Theater of Korea and ARKO·Daehak-ro Arts Theaterfrom October 13 to 16.

PAMS is a leading Asian international platform that supports the sustainable distribution of the performing arts. Through the introduction of works and pitching, information sharing, business meetings, and networking, it has supported the overseas expansion and international exchange of Korean performing arts and broadened opportunities for meetings and collaboration among artists and producers·distribution professionals.

In particular, works that have gone through PAMS continue to achieve a variety of follow-on outcomessuch as invitations, tours, and co-developmenton stages around the world, including Avignon, Paris, and Sydney. Building on these results, this year will further widen the scope of distribution and expand points of contact for exchange between artists and performing-arts professionals.

This year will newly present nine PAMS Choice showcases and five full-length productions under ‘PAMS×SPAF Choice’, linked with the Seoul Performing Arts Festival (SPAF). By featuring works across diverse genres and formatspansori, contemporary dance, original ballet, sound-based performance, and audience-participatory performancethe program will explore possibilities for distribution and collaboration. It will also provide forums to discuss key issues in the performing arts and share a range of discourses. In addition, through cooperation with overseas organizations, it will broaden points of contact for exchange and collaboration, and by launching the small-scale exchange forum ‘PAMS Mingle’, it will strengthen practical exchange and networking among performing-arts professionals.

On the back of participation in PAMS, follow-on overseas entriessuch as invitations from venues and festivals, tours, and co-productionshave steadily increased. Beyond introducing works, PAMS has generated tangible outcomes that lead to actual overseas distribution and collaboration through sustained exchanges with overseas venues, festivals, and artists.

Invitations to major overseas festivals and touring results are also continuing. In July, at the Avignon Festival, Liquid Sound’s <Gin: Yeonhui Deconstruction Project I>, selected for PAMS Choice 2023, and Jaram Lee Pansori’s 2025 selection <Snow, Snow, Snow> were invited to the official program (IN). This was achieved through a Korean-language special program in which the Korea Arts Management Service participated as an official Grand Partenaire.

In addition, Ak Dan Gwang Chil (ADG7), which took part in the 2025 PAMS Choice full-length program, followed last year’s appearance at the Tromsø World Festival in Norway with a tour this year of Germany·Switzerland·Austria·Sweden, and choreographer Lee Yang-Hee of the 2025 selection <Shimmering> was named a finalist for Danse Élargie, organized by Theatre de la Ville in Paris, France.

Overseas activities by PAMS participants are also continuing through follow-up support programs. Through the Korea Arts Management Service program Performing Arts Platform Follow-up Support, the 2025 participant Elephants Laugh is preparing a North American tour in 2027, including the United States and Canada, and Visual Theatre Kkot, Performance Creation Collective Saram, and 64ksana are also continuing their overseas activities this year with performances in India·France·Germany·Lithuania·Italy.

There are also cases that have created new possibilities for the development of works through co-productions with local overseas institutions. The pansori <A Long, Long Night> by Mouth and Hand Studio, introduced through PAMS Choice 2024, was reborn in February this year as a KoreanEnglish bilingual version through roughly a year of collaboration with the Sydney Opera House. This is a representative case in which a work introduced through PAMS expanded beyond simple invitations to collaboration and co-development with an overseas institution.

As such, participation in PAMS has led not only to overseas invitations and tours but also to diverse forms of follow-on outcomes such as co-productions and work development, continuously broadening the overseas distribution pathways and the basis for international cooperation in Korean performing arts.

The flagship PAMS program ‘PAMS Choice’ will present a total of nine works as showcases.

On October 13, Mouth and Hand Studio’s <Wanchang Pansori Project 2_Gangsan-je Sugungga>, which reinterprets the traditional pansori <Sugungga> in today’s theatrical language, and Musica x Machina’s <Music of Machinery>, which combines early music with electronic sound, will take the stage.

On the 14th, Choi Kang Project’s <Basic Dance: The Formula of Miracles>, which explores the principles of the body and movement; Ambiguous Dance Company’s <The Belt>, which expands the sensibility of contemporary dance with intense energy and rhythm; and Galmae’s <Not Here, But Through Here>, in which audiences unravel a giant rope together and experience the senses of the collective and of us, will be presented.

On the 15th (Thu), Gray by Silver’s <Time of Trees>, which unravels nature and the flow of time through music, and Aha Movement’s <Eum-Pa>, which explores bodily sensation and movement, will follow. On the final day, the 16th (Fri), Tteongsha Modern Dance’s <Meta Ballet: Improvisation, Crumpled Attitude>, which probes the relationship between a body embodying ballet and improvisation, and Iseul Music’s <Two Sounds of Kim Iseul>, which blends gugak·jazz·classical, can be seen.

A new initiative, ‘PAMS×SPAF Choice’, links the two international performing-arts platforms of the Korea Arts Management Service, the Seoul Arts Market (PAMS) and the Seoul Performing Arts Festival (SPAF). By combining the distribution base of a market with the artistic platform of a festival, the program will present five outstanding Korean performing-arts works in full and, while highlighting their artistic value, secure practical momentum for domestic and overseas distribution.

Barinamo’s <Scooped Up Yet Tending to Sink> questions an anthropocentric worldview and explores diverse beings and relationships through body·voice·performance·text. Modeun Company’s <Ssireum> reinterprets the gestures and energy of the Korean traditional sport ssireum in the language of contemporary dance.

Here is, Naturally, Theater’s <“Life could not be only about not getting slapped in the face”> illuminates the history, survival, and memory of solidarity in Korea’s queer community through the real life of a first-generation transgender woman. Tteongsha Modern Dance’s <Meta Ballet: Anti-Coppelia Declaration> questions the codified norms and bodily standards of ballet and proposes a new ballet shaped by diverse bodies. Zero Set Project’s <Welcome_2026> portrays the process of checking in on one another and sustaining memory and relationships through the lives and stories of families bereaved by a disaster.

The event will significantly expand programs for exchange and collaboration among domestic and overseas performing-arts professionals, including ‘PAMS Salon’ and the newly established small-scale exchange forum ‘PAMS Mingle’, as well as pitching, networking, and 1:1 business meetings.

‘PAMS Salon’, which shares trends, information, and discourses in the performing-arts field, will be run as a program planned in cooperation with SPAF, bringing together domestic and overseas experts to share diverse topics and perspectives. It will broadly address key on-site issues and multiple viewpoints, such as sustainability in the performing arts, cities and theaters, and new horizons in international performing arts. In cooperation with four overseas organizations·platformsQuébec on Stage of Canada’s International Exchange for the Performing Arts (CINARS), the Canadian Association for the Performing Arts (CAPACOA), the Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting (YPAM), and Wallonie-Bruxelles Théâtre Danse in Belgiumit will also explore the state of the performing arts in each region and possibilities for international exchange with domestic stakeholders.

The newly prepared ‘PAMS Mingle’ is a program in which participants with shared interests gather in small groups to freely exchange ideas and experiences. Rather than a fixed format or outcome, the focus is on identifying each other’s interests and building new networks.

‘PAMS Pitching’, which introduces works and projects in presentation format, will seek opportunities for collaboration that can lead to co-productions and tours. Through ‘PAMS Link’, works from associated organizations presenting Korean performing arts in Seoul during the same period will be connected with domestic and overseas stakeholders.

At ‘PAMS Speed-Dating’, concentrated 1:1 business meetings with performing-arts experts will be held. ‘PAMS Booth’ will broaden participation beyond performing-arts companies and institutions to include specialized firms related to the field, such as technology and equipment. This year, it will take place at the Cultural Square in front of the Haeoreum Theater at the National Theater of Korea.

The first PAMS pre-registration runs until September 15 (Tue), during which an all-access pass can be purchased at 50% of the regular price. The second pre-registration runs from September 16 (Wed) to October 7 (Wed), with a 30% discount on the all-access pass. Individual registration is available on the official PAMS website (www.pams.or.kr).

‘PAMS Speed-Dating’ will accept applications on a first-come, first-served basis from September 16 (Wed) for registered PAMS participants. After completing individual PAMS registration in advance, applications can be submitted via the official website.

Full-length performances under ‘PAMS×SPAF Choice’ require separate ticketing in addition to PAMS participation registration. Most performances are currently available for booking, and <Welcome_2026> will open ticket sales on September 11 (Fri). Tickets can be booked via the websites of the National Theater of Korea and ARKO·Daehak-ro Arts Theater, as well as NOL Ticket.

Kim Jang-Ho, President of the Korea Arts Management Service, said, “The Seoul Arts Market is an important platform where Korean performing arts meet the world stage and where new opportunities are created for domestic and overseas distribution, co-production, and localization of works,” adding, “We will continue to expand distribution opportunities for our works at home and abroad and strengthen support so that ongoing exchange and cooperation among performing-arts professionals can continue.”