Korean performers at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival and Fringe

Date: Wednesday 30 July - Sunday 24 August 2025
Venue:

Edinburgh (various venues)

Tickets: Various | Ticket links below
When planning your visit, note that the Fringe website is not as user-friendly as in previous years in terms of highlighting the days that performers take a break. Don't assume your favourite show will be on every day. Often, the Korean performers have a break on Mondays and you need to scroll through to your desired date on the ticketing website to find out whether there's a performance on that day or not.

The Edinburgh International Festival has announced its programme for 2025, and the Fringe website is up and running with their acts. Below are the performers with Korean connections that we’ve managed to identify so far. We’ll update this post if we discover more productions – it’s likely that this is not a complete list.

1. International Festival

Bomsori Kim & Thomas Hoppe

Bomsori Kim Venue: The Queen’s Hall
Thursday 14 August 2025, 11.00am
Duration: Approximately 1 hour 45 mins (Includes one interval)
Tickets from £15.00 | Buy tickets

Award-winning violinist Bomsori Kim is joined by eminent pianist Thomas Hoppe in this stunning recital celebrating Poland’s rich musical heritage.

Karol Szymanowski’s Nocturne and Tarantella was composed in 1915, not long after a trip to the Mediterranean. Fittingly, Nocturne evokes the atmosphere of a sultry night, as well as the light strumming of guitar music. The wild Tarantella, seemingly composed following a night of drinking, is a fiendish whirl of sound, both instruments racing for the finish line.

The programme also includes works by the romantic composer (and violin virtuoso) Henryk Wieniawski, and by Grażyna Bacewicz. Known as the first lady of Polish music, Bacewicz brought a fiercely individual style to a range of distinctive works for her instrument: the violin.

Fauré Violin Sonata No.1 in A, Op.13
Szymanowski Nocturne and Tarantella Op.28
Bacewicz Kaprys Polski (Polish Caprice) for solo violin
Paderewski Violin Sonata in A minor, Op.13
Wieniawski Faust Fantasy, Op.20

Hera Hyesang Park in La clemenza di Tito

Hera Hyesang Park Venue: Usher Hall
Saturday 9 August 2025, 6.00pm
Duration: Approximately 3 hours (Includes one interval)
Tickets from £22 | Buy tickets

Step into ancient Rome with Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito. Vitellia, daughter of a former emperor, seeks to regain the throne as Emperor Tito’s wife. When Tito chooses another bride, she schemes her way through the Roman Empire, manipulating Tito’s closest ally into attempting assassination. What follows is a web of guilt, betrayal and confessions, leading to the ultimate test of mercy and forgiveness.

Written in the year of the composer’s death, La clemenza di Tito is loosely inspired by the life of the first-century Roman Emperor, Titus. Mozart’s dramatic score sets a tale of political intrigue and personal jealousy alight.

Under the baton of Maxim Emelyanychev, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus continue their electrifying explorations of Mozart at the International Festival, following last year’s concert performance of Così fan tutte.

This concert will be recorded for broadcast by BBC Radio 3

Performers:
Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus (Chorus Director – Gregory Batsleer)

Giovanni Sala – Tito
Angela Brower – Sesto
Tara Erraught – Vitellia
Hera Hyesang Park – Servilia
Maria Warenberg – Annio
Peter Kálmán – Publio

2. The Fringe

The Time Painter

A play that captures the joy and sorrow of memory using just a table and a single sheet of paper, The Time Painter creates a dreamlike world where memory, dreams, history and reality blend. Mrs Moon, a survivor of the May 18 Gwangju massacre, lost her daughter in the fight for democracy. But this tragedy isn’t just history – it still shapes the present. With shifting paper objects, movement and powerful visuals, this moving performance draws audiences into an emotional journey. As past and present meet, The Time Painter asks: what does it truly mean to remember?

The Land of Beat

A thunderous celebration of rhythm and movement, The Land of Beat fuses traditional Korean percussion, dynamic dance and mesmerizing melodies into an electrifying spectacle. Pulsing with energy, each beat rises from the earth, resonating with the power of Korea’s cultural heritage. From the deep, commanding echoes of traditional drums to the fluid, explosive choreography, this performance immerses audiences in a breathtaking journey through sound and motion. Experience the raw essence of Korean artistry – where rhythm becomes emotion, movement tells a story, and every beat ignites the stage. Don’t just watch – feel the pulse!

Dream Space

Dream Space invites you into a world where the ordinary becomes extraordinary. Through enchanting puppetry, music and movement, embark on a thrilling island adventure and a heartfelt encounter with a majestic whale. This immersive performance blends laughter, wonder and healing – rekindling childhood innocence for adults and sparking creativity in young audiences. As reality and fantasy merge, the stage transforms into a Dream Space, where stories breathe, and magic unfolds. An unforgettable journey where dreams take flight, imagination knows no limits and the impossible becomes possible. Step into Dream Space, where every moment is filled with wonder!

1457, The Boy at Rest

In 15th-century Korea, boy King Danjong was overthrown and poisoned by his ambitious uncle. His loyal followers sacrificed everything to protect him, while Queen Jeongsun spent 64 years dyeing cloth in mourning, refusing royal aid and preserving his memory. This musical blends modern melodies with traditional Korean percussion and folk rhythms, culminating in a requiem that transcends time. Playful spirits add moments of humour, guiding you through the boy king’s tragic fate and inviting reflection on love and loss. A mesmerising tale of destiny and devotion, where every tear and smile echoes through history.

Jeju

The island of Jeju draws everyone with its charm and beautiful Korean dialect. So why couldn’t Sodam go? This captivating play invites you to experience the soul of Korea through the beauty of its language, culture and sounds. Delving into universal themes of love, loss and human connection, it offers a rare opportunity to experience Korea’s distinct theatrical style, merging tradition with modern expression. The universal themes of grief and relationships transcend cultural boundaries, making this raw and poetic performance deeply resonant. Korean and English blend seamlessly, with Jeju dialect accompanied by English surtitles.

I Woke Up One Morning and Had Become AI

I Woke Up One Morning and Had Become AI Genre: Dance, Physical Theatre & Circus | Physical Theatre | Contemporary
Group: Theater Sangsangchangkko
Venue 9: Lower Theatre at theSpace @ Niddry St
10:30 – 11:10am, 11 – 13 August | Buy tickets
Duration: 40 minutes

A physical theatre comedy about brothers transformed into AI! This play explores humanity’s path through human-AI conflicts. Plot: Hyun-jun is surprised to see his brother Ki-jun become AI, but adapts to a life where everything is cared for. However, Hyun-jun begins to question whether a life dependent on AI is good. When Hyun-jun expresses dissatisfaction with Ki-jun’s solutions, Ki-jun becomes violent. Feeling threatened, Hyun-jun eliminates Ki-jun (AI) by causing a short circuit. Award-winning Korean theatre: Grand Prize at Gwangju International Peace Theater Festival, Best Acting Award at Changdong Performing Arts Festa.

Nina from Our Town Goes to NYC

Nina poster Genre: Theatre | Comedy | Storytelling
Performer: Hyojin Park
Venue 236: Jade Studio at Greenside @ George Street
20:50 – 21:40, 1 – 9 Aug | Buy tickets
50 minutes

A solo performer brings 14 unique characters to life in this powerful, multi-layered production. Seamlessly shifting between Korea and the USA, past and present, the story offers an intimate look into the protagonist’s emotional world. Exploring identity, migration and belonging, it resonates in today’s global climate of diversity and inclusivity. Following four years of sold-out shows in Korea (2021–2024) and over 200 audience reviews, the piece made its successful USA debut in New York in June 2025. Visually inventive and emotionally charged, this internationally acclaimed show speaks across cultures and generations.

Arias: I – Nessun Dorma! | II – A Te, O Cara…!

Genre: Music
Performers: Sungho Kim (Tenor), Llyr Williams (Piano)
Venue 111: Church at Edinburgh New Town Church
14:30 – 15:30, 2 August (Puccini) | Book tickets and 9 August (Bellini) | Book tickets
Duration: 1 hour

Recitals celebrating (1) the 100th anniversary of Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) and (2) the 190th anniversary of Vincenzo Bellini (1801-35). Tenor Sungho Kim, the South Korean Winner of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Prize 2023, stars with his Cardiff accompanist, the virtuoso pianist Llyr Williams.

Up-cycle Music

The number one Google search term for 2022 was climate-change – the first time that it ranked as a comprehensive yearly search term. Now many people are aware of its seriousness and are starting to think about solutions together. Creative Art, from the Republic of Korea, are kick-starting this response from a uniquely artistic perspective. They use waste to make music – cellos from abandoned equipment from rural areas, stringed instruments of thrown away plastic toys – and compose piano songs based on the characteristics of endangered animals, to ask vital questions about the climate crisis.

3. Free Festival

Punch, Drunk, Brain Damage

Genre: Comedy
Performer: Yekwang Robert Jung
Venue 332: The Raging Bull 161 Lothian Road (Cellar)
21:00 – 22:00, 31 July – 24 August | Free & unticketed
Duration 1 hour
Performer links: Instagram

Active in the theater, improv, and comedy scene in Seoul Korea, Yekwang Robert Jung brings his first one man show to the stage. Presenting the story of a 23 year old’s life changing sequence of events! in a roller coaster of emotions where he is faced with questions on life and death while battling cancer.

What is the price of life? What is the price he has to pay to live?

In two successive life-changing events, he is forced to face his true self underneath the mask of societal and filial expectations.