World class performers

The academy opened the gala with a classic Peking Opera piece, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, centered around the fictional character, the Monkey King.

The excerpt depicted the fight scene between the Monkey King and the heavenly army, in which performers, particularly the actor playing the Monkey King, Sun Jingpeng, exhibited awe-inspiring technique and dexterity.

"This performance is different from our previous ones. It was more comprehensive, with several universities performing various art forms on the same stage, in particular, the Korean arts, which allowed us to learn about their traditional culture," Sun says.

Three universities from South Korea participated in the show, including the Korea National Sport University, Kookmin University and the Chinju National University of Education, presenting three traditional dance types that used to serve varied purposes.

Kookmin University brought a Gyobang dance based on the early-20th-century poet Kim So-wol's work, Sanyuhwa (Flowers in the Mountains), that illustrates the cycle of seasons with female dancers wearing the traditional hanbok national dress, forming the imagery of flowers.