Korean choreographer Sungyong Kim is a driving force in shaping the contemporary dance scene in Korea and abroad. As Artistic Director of the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company, he has created works that expand the possibilities of movement while developing a unique method of creation. Known for his rigorous yet imaginative approach to choreography, he continues to develop a repertoire that bridges Korean identity with a global vision. He spoke to Dance ICONS, Inc., about his new work Crawl, his creative process, and his evolving choreographic philosophy.

ICONS: How did you discover dancing, and how did you start choreographing?

Sungyong Kim: I first started dancing when I was 15 years old at the recommendation of my homeroom teacher back in middle school. I guess the teacher found I have lots of talent and something inside of me that just seemed to be drawn into the artistic world. That's when I started preparing for an art high school and that's how I started dancing. Also, I started entering in lots of dance competitions, including the one held in Japan called Japan International Ballet and Modern Dance Competition in Nagoya. I got the silver medal.

I also competed in Korea as well, and one contest awarded me with a grand prize. I was allowed not to serve in the mandatory military service -- the highest honor that was given to me at the time. I continued building my career as a dancer. But my goal has always been to become a choreographer.

ICONS: Do you have an influential figure or key events that shaped who you are as an artist?

SK: I think there were lots of influences that shaped who I am today. And over the course of 150 works in my history and experience, I feel like my interpretation of modern dance has changed over maybe every 10 works that I've done. I feel like it's changed within me at least 15 times.

ICONS: What is modern dance to you now?

SK: Right now, I feel like my interpretation of modern dance today is very different from what I originally thought. The first sentence that comes to mind when I think of modern dance is showing who I really am and what is happening in the world around me.

I think earlier on I really concentrated on how my dance was going to be seen and judged by the audience. However, what matters more is what is inside of me. I am investigating who I really am. I experiment with what and how I can express myself through the dance. It is important to face what is inside of me first. And then I create and go to meet the audience.

ICONS: How do you define your creative interest?

SK: My answer will be supported by two more specific questions: How do we choose which version of ourselves we express and what we want to investigate? For instance, in Jungle, when we were doing our movement research, we first started with the concept of limited space. The dancers would move into this intimate and limited space, where they are searching, discovering and finding their movements as a reaction to the space. At a certain point I realized this process can become a piece on its own and decided to call it Jungle.

ICONS: You have developed an original movement research method called “Process init [within].” How do you transfer the movement research into the final choreography?

SK: The Process itself requires a lot of delicate communication between the choreographer and the dancer. The dancers and I often struggle through this difficult and lonely journey together to reach a dance performance completeness. However, when we are done with the dance piece, we walk away with a lot learned, acquired and acknowledged.

At the beginning, the Process was a way to have the dancers move freely, motivate movement within them, and have them initiate dance on their own accord. Lately, this method helps me look at the bigger picture. Nowadays, my creative influences come from watching clouds in the sky.

ICONS: Can you share your collaborative process with the lighting designer and the musicians?

SK: The first thing is not giving up and to constantly work on trying to make it work. There are moments where I hesitate that I came unprepared. I am asking myself and the creative team: Maybe this isn't the right direction?  Or, maybe I'm the fool who is out of touch? But I overcome that hesitation and keep trying again and again and again until we all reach a harmonious togetherness.

It takes a long time to get to what we ideally desire. Right now, for each new piece we have annually over 20 performances worldwide. The second performance is always better than the first, the third is better than the second. We will continue improving and get better with time.

ICONS: What are the challenges for you as a choreographer and also as a director of the company?

SK: I think both come with a heavy responsibility, and it's not an easy task for anyone. As a choreographer and director, the biggest role for me is to listen to everyone and to come to a fair creative or management decision. I'm constantly making one decision after another. It's not that I have all the answers—yet, I'm still in the position and have the responsibility to make decisions.

ICONS: What do you look for in your dancers?

SK: At a certain point, technique has become somewhat meaningless to me. So many of the dancers that I see at auditions have great technique, yet many do not differentiate from one another. So for me, what's really important is what is unique to them, what is innately theirs, something that can never be taken away by someone else. I need their uniqueness to shine on stage. I’m looking for diverse skills and personality, and not monotonous and predictable habits.

ICONS: Can you tell us about your new work premiering on November 8th?

SK: The new work is called Crawl. My motivation came from my visits to Abu Dhabi and my interaction with the people there who left a really strong impression on me. The place is hot and really dry. The sun and the light are just weighing down on everyone. It is too much to bear, but they've learned to live with it. They are maintaining a life with it, not with a rapid run, but rather moving forward very slowly -- one step at a time.

The focus of this piece is speed. We're layering lots of very slow movements with bursts of fast movements. The variation of speed is what moves the dance piece.

ICONS: How do you find your originality?

SK: Over the course of my works, situations changed and I have changed as well. At the beginning, I wanted the audience to enjoy my work -- like a present that I give them. But then I discovered that my dances weren't quite what I wanted. I wasn't satisfied and I wanted to find a better way to find myself and express myself. How can I achieve this?

Think of it like this: Imagine that you're making an airplane except you don't have any directions. You’re trying to build it out of thin air. Maybe it's going to work, or maybe not. Then all of a sudden everything works out just fine. I feel that's what the magic of dance really is. It’s not much about inspiration, but rather unwillingness to give up and lots of hard work.

I was able to succeed in this career because I was given two excellent opportunities to work with the only two companies in Korea that would allow me to develop as an artist: Daegu City Dance Company and here, the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company. None of this would have been possible without the dancers. I think it was a blessing and a true joy to be able to work with a constant flow of talented dancers.

ICONS: If you had a chance to travel back in time, what would you advise your younger self?

SK: My first piece of advice is to make sure you make enough money to live, so that you don’t have to give up dancing. If I were to give younger dancers some advice, I would advise them constantly to maintain confidence and believe in themselves, and to gain experiences that empower them to make their own decisions in life.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: https://kncdc.kr/en/about/art_directors

COMPANY WEBSITE:  https://kncdc.kr/en/about/intro

PHOTOS: © BAKi, Headshot of Sungyong Kim, © KNCDC, Inmo Hwang, Jungle (2024), © KNCDC, Inmo Hwang, Init: unseen (2025)

VIDEO: KOREA NATIONAL CONTEMPORARY DANCE COMPANY  - Jungle, choreography by Sungyong Kim

INTERVIEW'S CREATIVE TEAM ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

Interviewer: Asami Seki

Executive Content Editor: Camilla Acquista

Executive Assistant: Charles Scheland

Founding and Executive Director: Vladimir Angelov

Dance ICONS, Inc., October 2025 © All rights reserved

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