Gyeonggi Arts Center to Present 'Seoga Concert,' a Meeting of Literature and Classical Music, on the 20th

Gyeonggi Arts Center will present “2026 Seoga Concert: The Unbearable Lightness of Being,” a chamber music series bringing literature and classical music together, at its Small Theater on November 20.

The Seoga Concert is Gyeonggi Arts Center’s book-and-classical-music concert series, combining literature and classical music. It offers a fresh way to experience the stories and ideas in literary works through commentary and chamber music performances. Now in its third season, the series explores the music of Czech writer Milan Kundera’s acclaimed novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

This concert uses classical music to illuminate the world of the novel, which explores love and relationships, chance and choice, and the weight and meaning of life. Is a life lived only once light, or does the fact that we have only one chance to choose make it all the heavier? Drawing on the novel’s central question of “lightness and weight,” the concert examines the characters’ love and conflicts and their differing attitudes toward life, extending the philosophical questions raised by the literature through music. Works by Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Stravinsky, and others will bring different emotions and musical colors to the novel’s themes.

From the pursuit of perfection in love to a regard for order and principles, from deep emotions that are difficult to reveal to the freedom of living on one’s own terms, the audience will follow the perspectives of the characters and the contrasting music and reflect on their own relationships, choices, and ways of life beyond the story of the novel.

Readers who have already read the novel can experience a familiar story in a new way, while those who have not yet read it can enjoy the opportunity to experience classic literature and classical music together.

Poster for Gyeonggi Arts Center's Bookshelf Concert

The event will be hosted by Heo Jeongyun, a picture-book author and animation director. Heo, who has created stories across literature and visual art, will guide the audience through the characters and

narrative, helping them engage more fully with the questions raised in the novel. Performers will include the Holts String Quartet and pianists Shin Mincheol and Choi Serin. The commentary on the literature will be combined with string and piano performances to explore the meaning of the work and help the audience understand and appreciate it.

A Gyeonggi Arts Center representative said, “The Seoga Concert is a series designed to help audiences experience classic works in a more accessible and multifaceted way through the meeting of literature and classical music.” The representative added, “We hope this performance will offer a chance to revisit questions about love, relationships, and life choices through music, and to reflect on what lightness and weight mean in each of our lives.”

The performance is open to audience members aged 14 and older and will run for approximately 90 minutes without an intermission. Tickets are priced at 35,000 won for R seats and 25,000 won for S seats. Happy 10,000-won seats will also be available. Tickets can be booked through NOL, and details on discounts and other information are available on the Gyeonggi Arts Center website.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.