Be thankful, they said

2023 marked the 70th anniversary of the first transnational adoption from South Korea and the critical voices of adoptees have never been louder. In Be thankful, they said, the international artistic team around Olivia Hyunsin Kim/ddanddarakim humorously re-appropriates clichéd adoption narratives, confronts the erasure of their identities and shows how those affected reclaim their own stories.

Based on interviews with experts, artists and activists from the South Korean diaspora, who were themselves adopted as children into Western countries, the performance traces the aftermath of a history of global entanglements that still receives little attention. A history that was not only characterized by charity and humanitarian aid intentions, but also by the reproduction of colonial structures, white savior fantasies, patriarchal oppression, forced migration and human trafficking. How do transnational adoptees reflect on their childhood in retrospect? And what political demands arise today from the lived experience of transnationally adopted people?

Be thankful, they said is a multidisciplinary artistic exploration of (pop) cultural and media images of transnational adoption and the real individual perspectives of the people affected.

◎Video: for full version, please contact me.

◎ Place & Date:

https://sophiensaele.com/en/stueck/be-thankful-they-said

▶ Worldpremiere , Sophiensæle Berlin, 4th of October at 20:00 with German Sign Language Interpretation

▶ Further Shows Sophiensæle Berlin, 5th of October at 20:00 with German Sign Language Interpretation and German Audio Description

▶ 6th of October at 18:00

▶ 7th of October at 20:00

+ On 5th for the German Audio Description, the preceding tactile tour takes place from 19:00 to 19:30 and afterwards the installation can be visited together. You can register for audio description and pick-up service Monday to Friday between 10:00 and 18:00 via 030 27 89 00 30 or barrierefreiheit@sophiensaele.com.

+Two performances in German Sign Language interpretation and for all shows sound and music can be visually sensed.

+All performances take place as Relaxed Performances.

◎ Credit

▶ ARTISTIC DIRECTION, CHOREOGRAPHY: Olivia Hyunsin Kim

▶ DANCE:Daniel Jeremiah Persson

▶ KOREAN TRADITIONAL DANCE COACH:Ji Sun Hagen

▶ LIGHTDESIGN, VIDEO: Jones Seitz

▶ STAGE: Soojin Oh

▶ COSTUME: Kristin Gerwien, Arnita Jaunsubrena

▶ SOUND: Tatiana Heuman

▶TECHNICAL DIRECTION: Gretchen Blegen

▶ DRAMATURGY: Maria Rößler

▶ OUTSIDE EYE: Lena Soon Hee Meierkord

▶ ACCESS CONSULTING: Hyemi Jolee

▶ GUEST PERFORMANCE: Olivia Hyunsin Kim, Ji Sun Hagen

▶ PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT: ehrliche arbeit – freelance cultural office

▶  TRANSCRIPTIONS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Mel Brinkmann

▶ GRAPHIC DESIGN: Christian Cattelan

▶ GERMAN SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION (DGS): Hyemi Jolee, Aniella Tiedje, Lisa Leonhardt

▶ AUDIO DESCRIPTION: Hannah Aldinger, Ari Althaus, Johanna Krins

▶  FIRST MOVEMENT RESEARCH: Sunniva Vikør Egenes

▶  THANKS TO: kimura byol lemoine, Mirae kh RHEE, Kang Yoon Jung aka Martine Lunshof, Vic So Hee Alz, Le Dan, Maïté Minh Tâm Maeum Jeannolin, Deann Borshay Liem, Lena Soon Hee Meierkord, Chale Gobbett, Isabel, Joon Hee (Erika) Blikman, Melanie, Tobias Hübinette, Kim Sang-Mee, Do-Hyun Kim (KoRoot), Timm Shik Therre, Korean Image Archive

▶ A production by Olivia Hyunsin Kim/ddanddarakim in co-production with Sophiensæle. Supported by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion and with funds from the Capital Cultural Fund. Thanks to Uferstudios, PSR Kollektiv and Theaterhaus Berlin. Media partners: Missy Magazine, Siegessäule, taz.