Korean fusion

Back in 2009, a former colleague of mine, then at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, told me that the South Korean government was looking for ways to integrate traditional and contemporary culture. Topp Dogg is giving it a pretty good shot with this song and video, which goes further than just slapping on a little samulnori rhythm or a few costumes. They use terminology and situations from traditional Korean culture (mostly Joseon-era) , and you can see in this choreography version that the dancing, while staying very much in the hip hop idiom, throws in gestures and moves that belong to traditional Korean dance, from certain fan moves — tapping the ground or the shoulder in a particular way — to a samulnori-style circle dance. (And yes, this is a year old, but I just found out about it.)