Insun Park and the Generals to perform at Cedar Cultural Center

Insun Park and the Generals, a South Korean band that blends rock, Korean traditional music and Korean mask dance (talchum) rhythms, will perform at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis for one show on Wednesday, February 25.

Insun Park stands out as one of the few women who are masters of the Gangnyeong Mask Dance. The talchum tradition has traditionally been dominated by men, but Park has been designated as an National Intangible Cultural Heritage asset of South Korea (Number 34).

She leads a quartet of musicians who perform a unique blended style of ancient performing art and contemporary sound.  They include Donghyuk Seo (composer/guitar), Hyunmo Yang (drums), Johyun Kim (taepyeongseo (Korean folk reed instrument) and flute),and Hahyungki Baek (bass guitar).

The band’s approach offers a fresh perspective on Korea’s musical heritage and makes the traditional mask dance accessible to new audiences. Park is a leading force in shaping the future of Korean traditional performing arts.

Headiners Insun Park and the Generals will be joined by Black Widows, a surf-punk-psyche band from Minneapolis. The Black Widows have toured nationally and internationally, and have a full-length album Creatures of the Night, coming out this spring.

The Korean Institute of Minnesota, a Saturday culture and language school for children and adults, located in Minneapolis, is the cultural partner for this event. The Korean American-owned Minneapolis micro-brew pub Arbeiter Brewing is also a partner.

Doors open at the Cedar Cultural Center at 7 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets $27.81 for general admission are available at the link.