Who will fill the seat left by the leader who guided the company for 12 years? Ahead of the appointment of the Korean National Ballet's next director, the dancers have spoken out directly.
The dancers collectively released a "Statement from the Dancers on the Selection of the Korean National Ballet Director and Artistic Director" on Friday, calling for a fair selection process and the appointment of someone with professional expertise. The dancers' unusual public stance is interpreted as a response to rumors spreading in the dance world that a particular individual had been pre-selected for the next director post.
In response, Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young, who holds the appointment authority, moved to quell the controversy himself through social media the same day. "Strange, groundless rumors are circulating over the selection of the Korean National Ballet director," Choi said, directly refuting the speculation that a particular individual had been pre-selected.
Dancers: 'Leader Must Understand the Ballet's Front Lines'
In their statement, the dancers emphasized the weight of the director and artistic director position. "The person must understand the ballet's front lines more deeply than anyone and lead the future of Korean ballet," they said. "They must know how a professional ballet company's training system operates, and how intense the performance production process and repertoire management are."
The dancers made clear, however, that their objection was not aimed at any specific individual. "This is not to unconditionally exclude or oppose a particular person," they said. "The leader must have practical experience in dancers' growth and career management, respect the dancers' artistic capabilities, and be able to stably lead the ballet's internal order and creative environment."
The Korean National Ballet director post has been vacant for nearly two months since former director Kang Sue-jin stepped down in April after a 12-year term. As the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism entered the process of selecting a successor, unverified rumors spread in parts of the dance world that a candidate without experience running a professional ballet company was being considered.
Minister Choi: 'Absurd Rumors'
As the controversy grew, Choi continued his rebuttal on social media as if resolved to do so. "An absurd rumor is circulating that an elderly dance professor with no professional ballet company experience, who worked in the Lee Jae-myung campaign, will be appointed," he said. "Such a person has never once appeared on the list of candidates under careful consideration by the Culture Minister, who holds the appointment authority, from the beginning until now."
He went on to point out that "by subtly presenting absurd rumors as established fact under the guise of speculation about candidates, even the media has stepped in to fuel distrust." He added, "I am disclosing this in advance in case someone insists later, when the selection result is announced and differs from the rumor, that 'it was withdrawn midway.'"
Choi urged the dancers, "Please do not worry at all and focus on your performances." Citing the ancient proverb "samin seongho" (三人成虎) — that if three people say the same thing, even a nonexistent tiger becomes real — he concluded his post, "What kind of tiger happening is this in broad daylight?" At the end of the post, he also attached hashtags reading "dumbfounded" and "groundless."
Choi said, "Rumors and conjecture always run rampant during personnel decisions," but added that "this time, they have gone too far."
