MULJIL

물질

The 2026 archive

République de Corée / 2018 creation

In MULJIL, inspired by the haenyeo divers (해녀) of Jeju Island, the poetry of bodies suspended in water tanks confronts us with vulnerability and the fragile boundary between life and death.

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MULJIL, Jinyeob Lee, 2026 © Christophe Raynaud de Lage / Festival d'Avignon

Presentation

Inspired by the haenyeo (해녀) of Jeju Island in South Korea – women who free dive deep into the sea to harvest shellfish – MULJIL revolves around pools filled with water in which the dancers are immersed. Four characters – a worker, a pregnant woman, a transgender person, and a woman driven by the desire for physical transformation – each embodying a form of vulnerability, each subject to the pressures of our society. The bodies suspended in water evoke the fragile boundary between life and death, weaving close connections with the lived experience of refugees who attempt to cross the sea.
MULJIL develops a collective reflection on solidarity and resilience, reminding us that even if individuals live like separate islands, they are all immersed in the same sea.

제주도의 해녀에서 영감을 받은 물질(MULJIL)은 수조 속에 부유하는 몸들의 시적인 이미지를 통해 인간 존재의 연약함과 삶과 죽음 사이의 위태로운 경계를 드러낸다.

INTERVIEW WITH JINYEOB LEE

Distribution

With Aeri Lee, Hyunsung Seo, Jaeho Lee, Joonbong Kim, Kwanghyun Ma and Zem-Zem Bizot, Ibrahima Gassama, Oumar Gramboute, Sara Louis, Noella Ouslam
Direction Jinyeob Lee
Text Jaeuk Shin
Sound Jimmy Sert
Lighting Hayoung Jeong
Costumes Gyonginn Kim
Set management Wonsuk Choi
Production Bongmin Choi

Production

Production Elephants Laugh
Commissioned by Ansan Street Arts Festival et du Seoul Street Arts Creation Center
Partnership Producer Group DOT
Support Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE), K-arts on the Go

KAMS – Korea Arts Management Service

Korea Arts Management Service(KAMS) works to connect Korean artists and their creations with stages and audiences across the world, supporting the international circulation and global presence of Korean performing arts.

For its 80th edition, the Festival d’Avignon welcomes Korean as its guest language. Through performances, literature, and a constellation of artistic encounters, this programme offers an opportunity to share with audiences the vitality, imagination, and cultural depth of contemporary Korean arts.

This invitation has grown out of the longstanding exchange and collaboration between the Seoul Performing Arts Festival(SPAF), an annually held festival organized by KAMS, and the Festival d’Avignon. KAMS is proud and delighted to join this initiative as a main partner, introducing outstanding works representing Korea to Avignon after 28 years. On this occasion, the SPAF will continue to strengthen its collaboration with the Festival d'Avignon.

We hope that the openness, resilience, and artistic imagination carried by the Korean language will resonate with audiences around the world, creating new echoes and connections. May this collaboration open new paths for artistic encounters and dialogue between Korea and the international performing arts community.

KAMS website