REVIEW: Haribo Kimchi

Haribo Kimchi ©️ Bea Borgers

Haribo Kimchi is a multidisciplinary experimental performance, directed, performed, composed, and with video created by talented artist Jaha Koo, presented at the Studio Theatre as part of the Edinburgh International Festival.

Set in a street food stall in South Korea, the show begins with an image of Seoul projected onto the rain cover of the stall. Accompanied by electronic, futuristic music, the projection visually brings us into this world. From modern buildings to the food market, the setting gradually shifts. As the sound changes into the ambience of rain, Jaha Koo slowly walks out from behind the stall, takes down the rain cover, and opens it. The lights come on, and suddenly, we are all customers on the street.

Two audience members are invited onto the stage, or perhaps we should call it the food stall, to eat and drink. From soju and maekju, kimchi pancakes and cold seaweed soup to fried oyster mushrooms and dessert, each dish contains a story, a memory, and a journey. These stories are connected to people Jaha Koo has encountered: his mother, his father, a doctor he met in Germany, and a friend. There are also stories about seemingly ordinary encounters: a snail, Gona, found while shopping at Costco; Haribo sweets eaten on a train in a foreign country, despite Jaha not usually eating sweets when he was back in South Korea; and an eel that escaped from a farm. Each story eventually leads back to questions of identity and belonging.

Cooking on stage also creates a sensory experience for the audience. The smell of the food becomes part of the performance, allowing us to experience something of what kimchi and Korean food can evoke beyond the visual and auditory.

The music runs consistently throughout the show and plays an important role in shaping its atmosphere. English is used in the performance, while voiceovers in Korean are accompanied by subtitles, allowing audiences from different backgrounds to follow the journey. The video and animation elements respond closely to the storytelling, especially impressed by the last bit of adding another layer without overwhelming it. The pacing of the performance is particularly effective. Each individual story initially feels separate, but as the performance progresses, the different layers gradually come together, creating a stronger sense of the journey as a whole.

It is a pleasure to see an Asian production presented at the Edinburgh International Festival and to experience Jaha Koo’s distinctive approach to performance-making. Haribo Kimchi offers a unique and intimate experience, combining food, sound, video, storytelling, and memory to explore what it means to belong.

★★★★★

This show is performing at Studio Theatre until 24th August. For more information, please visit: https://www.eif.co.uk/events/haribo-kimchi

Credits

Cast

Jaha Koo, with Gona, Haribo & Eel

Creative and Production Team

Director, Music, Sound & Video: Jaha Koo
Dramaturg: Dries Douibi
Scenographer, Researcher & Media Operation: Eunkyung Jeong
Artistic Advisor: Pol Heyvaert
Technical Co-ordinator: Korneel Coessens
Technical Team: Bart Huybrechts, Tom Daniels & Jasse Vergauwe
Production Co-ordinator: Wim Clapdorp
English Proofreader: Jason Wrubell
Snail Animator: Vincent Lynen

Produced by CAMPO. Co-produced by Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Rideau de Bruxelles, Theatre Utrecht, SPRING festival, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Théâtre de la Bastille, Tangente St. Pölten – Festival für Gegenwartskultur, &Espoo theatre, International Summer Festival Kampnagel, Sophiensaele, Meet You Festival, Bunker, National Theatre and Concert Hall Taipei, The Divine Comedy International Theatre Festival / Teatr Łaźnia Nowa & Perpodium with the support of the tax shelter of the Belgian Federal Government via Cronos Invest & the Flemish Government.

Sound Behind Curtain

A place for all Asian artists.

📮: contact@soundbehindcurtain.com

Your gift keeps the curtain rising for Asian creatives.

About
Contact

© 2026 Sound Behind Curtain. All rights reserved.
Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy

Reviews
Interviews
News