Korean magicians
immersed in art
at 2010 seminar
Well it is already March and February has come and gone here in Korea but not without some very special things happing over the last two weeks of the month.
First there was the news that came to us from England about the winners of the Blackpool Convention. I would like to congratulate all of the winners at this year’s Blackpool Convention, but I would especially like to tip my hat to the three Korean winners: Kim Hyung Jun, Lee Jung Min, and Kim Min Hyung. Hyung Jun and Jung Min took first and second place in the stage competition, and Min Hyung took first place in the close-up competition.
Then from February 27th to March 1st was the DongPusan College International Magic Seminar 2010. This seminar is a yearly event that is sponsored by DongPusan College, which is one of the two colleges in the south of the country that have degree programs in magic.
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The seminar is an excellent chance for magicians throughout the country to come together and learn more about different aspects of the art -- not just how an effect works. This year the attendance was about sixty-five magicians from different parts of the country, and the average age was around twenty-two.
This year’s seminar opened at 1:30 p.m. with an hour lecture by Yuji Yasuda talking about the use of timing, movement and misdirection in routines. He had clear, well-organized points, and he made use of some wonderful videos of some classic magicians to present the audience with a clear picture of how important these aspects of magic are when performing. It was a lecture I would enjoy seeing over and over again.
The second lecture was given by the well-known, Japanese fire magician Seki Daikoh. He talked about the use of fire in magic and some safety measures to take when using fire in your shows. He also showed us some very visual and exciting fire effects and the workings behind them.
The third and final lecture of the afternoon was by Kim Jeong-Woo from the Alexander Magic Family group. He gave a talk on the history of Korean modern magic.
The next part of the program was the stage show, which showcased a number of world-class acts on an intimate, college stage. The M.C. for the show was none other than Han Seol-Hui. He did a great job of keeping the audience entertained and introducing the acts. The performers for the show were Seki Daikoh, Yuji Yasuda, Fujimoto Akiyoshi, Kim Jeong-Woo, Lee Yeong-Woo, Shin Yong-Woon and Sato Kazuma. The show was followed by a dinner at a delicious Korean pork barbeque restaurant and then back to the hotel for a short, one-hour break before meeting up again in one of the hotel rooms to start the Magic Games.
The Magic Games started at 10:30 p.m. and run into the wee hours of the night. It is where all of the magicians and guests come together in one room, sitting on the traditional Korean heated floor, and have a number of items put in front of them for them to create some type of magic. It can lead to some very creative routines, and many of the seminar’s participants look forward to this chance to learn from the others at the games.
The second day of the seminar kicked off with breakfast from 7:30 a.m. followed at 9:30 with a lecture from Ryu Hyun Min, the 2009 I.B.M. Convention Close-up winner. His lecture was well-received and dealt with controlling the audience’s attention during your performances. He also talked about his thinking process when he puts together an act, even down to finer details, such as only using red backed cards or why he stands instead of sitting during his performances.
Following Hyun Min was Japanese magician Fujimoto Akiyoshi. His lecture was about a number of ways he had adapted some effects, such as the Card in Bottle and the Zombie, to improve upon them. By the end of his lecture you really got some good insights into how an effect can be reworked to provide the maximum entertainment value.
The next in the lecture room, before lunch, was Han Seol-Hui. He gave a talk on what it takes to put together a competition-level act. He focused on things such as timing, movements, rhythm and finding your own personal style. Seol-Hui was a performer that was kept very busy during this seminar. He not only was the M.C. for the stage show and a guest lecturer, but he also performed during the close-up show, later in the afternoon, in which he did an act that did not have any CD’s in it. It was very wonderful to see such a young, talented performer being so involved in this seminar.
After about a two hour break for lunch the attendees were treated to a lecture by Charming Choi. At present he is taking his act on the road for a tour around the country but was able to make it to the seminar to give a lecture and be the M.C. for the close-up show later in the day. Charming Choi’s lecture was on the fundamental workings of a magic show, explaining everything from Cue sheets to angles when working in front of the camera for TV.
The next to last lecturer for the evening was Japanese magician Yuki Tomi. He presented a very visual lecture on rope and card magic. The effects that he shared with the members of the audience were very well-received, and I saw a majority of audience members taking notes feverishly as he gave his lecture.
This brought us to the last lecture of the day by Kim Won il. His presentation was on the history of the Snowstorm effect. He did a great job in conveying not only the history of this effect, but also the changes and modifications made to this effect over time. He also used some very nice visuals with his PowerPoint presentation.
With the lectures for the day finished, it was time for the close-up show. The M.C. for the show was Charming Choi and the line-up of performers was as follows: Kim Kyoung Duk, Fujimoto Akiyosh, Kim Young Hoon, Han Seol-Hui, Seki Daikoh, Yuki Tomi, Kim Chi, and Ryu Hyun Min. The show was a fabulous line-up of talent performed in a small, intimate setting.
Dinner followed by a late night Q & A session. The Q & A session was in the same room as the Magic Games the night before. Everyone had a seat on the nicely heated floors as the guest magicians sat at a low table up front and took questions from the participants on a variety of topics. This was a wonderful chance for the young magicians to ask question about anything they wanted and to get advice from any of the seminar’s guest magicians. It was very interactive and informative for everyone and went on well into the wee morning hours much like the night before.
On the last day of the seminar there were only two events. The first was the lecture given by two talented and popular Korean magicians, Lee Young-Woo and Kim Gyeon Duk. They both did a fine job of taking the participants through more of the finer points of putting together a top-notch magic act.
The last event of the seminar was the Ideas and Solutions portion. This is the time when anyone attending the seminar could come up to the table and talk about some effect or move that they were having problems with and explain how they solved the problem. This went on for about an hour or so longer than scheduled, but everyone was learning so much that they really did not even notice the time.
I truly feel that this is one of the most beneficial events in magic held here in Korea. It gives the magicians a chance to come together from all over the country to learn, watch and talk about so many different aspects of the art while at the same time make new friends and meet up with old ones. I know that the goal of the organizers, in the years to come, is to make this a more international event with participants and guest performers from all around the world. I really look forward to that day because I will surely be there to enjoy it.
I would like to thank my friend Shin Yong Woon (Red Hat) for allowing me to post some of these great photos he took for the seminar this year. I just wish I could have shared more of them with you.
Well, until next month I hope everyone has a great March and you can keep to and achieve some of those New Year goals you set forth just a few months ago.
-- Gregory Bracco
