Time now for our "Life & Info" segment,... where we focus on information useful for your everyday life.<br />Today we are going to focus on culture and the arts.<br />To tell us about some events for this weekend and more, we have our Lee Min-sun in the studio.<br />Min-sun, what do you have for us?<br /><br />Hi Mark,<br />Last time I was in the studio, I introduced some cultural performances to enjoy on weekdays after work.<br />Today, I'm going to introduce weekend performances called 'Saturday Performance of Korean Music and Dance.'<br />It's a regular performance that has been taking place for over 30 years on Saturdays at the National Gugak Center.<br />These Saturday performances which run for 90 minutes consist of Korean traditional music, dance and singing performances.<br />In the first week of August, it will present some traditional musical instruments like Gayageum, the Korean harp or Samulnori, a traditional percussion quartet along with Taepyongso, the conical oboe.<br />Performers will compliment the music with traditional singing and dancing.<br />And throughout August, some more familiar forms of traditional music and dances will be presented.<br />Some folk songs from the Jellado-provincial area and royal ancestral rites music will be performed.<br />Royal ancestral rites music is the kind of music played at Jongmyo Shrine.<br />You can also enjoy a range of traditional dances like fan dance, Buddhist dance, and Ganggnagsulae, the traditional Korean circle dance play performed under the full moon.<br />Another performance is the Bongsan Talchum, a traditional mask dance that originates from Hwanghae-do province in North Korea.<br />Talchum is known for its humorous satire of the upper class and portrayal of common people's lives. It's also fun to see the different facial expressions on masks.<br /><br />It sounds like a range of traditional Korean dance and music to enjoy. I personally haven't seen many traditional performances here in Korea because I think I need to have some background to fully understand the traditional arts.<br /><br />Right, that's how some people Koreans and non-Koreans - feel about traditional music and dance performances because they are not familiar with it.<br />To make the traditional arts more inclusive, the National Gugak Center is offering commentaries at its Saturday performances.<br />Unfortunately, it's not offered on every Saturdays, but there are two scheduled in September, in the first and the last week of the month.<br />A commentator will provide an overview of the performance and explain the historical background and characteristics of each song and performance.<br />And these comments will be shown on large screens both in Korean and English so foreign audiences will not be left out.<br />Admission for Saturday Performance of Korean Music and Dance is from 10,000 to 20,000 won, about 8-and-a-half to 17 U.S. dollars a person.<br />And for those who want to start their weekend early, there's Friday Contemporary Gugak Concert in August.<br />Friday concerts combine some contemporary elements and even classical music to lower th
