This research is about the performances of Korean immigrant art troupe, from Russia’s Vladivostok maritime province (Yonhaeju : Prismorsky Krai), that visited Korea in the early 1920s. Initially the performances aimed to raise funds to build churches and help Koreans in Russia suffering from economic difficulties due to prolonged droughts and the civil war in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution. However, the performances gained nationwide popularity, introducing Western folk music and dancing to Korea, which became the driving force in spreading a dance craze throughout the country. These performances significantly influenced the history of Korean modern dance, best exemplified by Cho Taek-Won who was first introduced to modern dance by the troupe’s performances and who became one of three new dance (Shinmuyong) pioneers. It is rare in the field of Diaspora Studies that cultural influences come from the outside the mother country, as in the case of the Korean-Russian art troupe. This research, from the perspective of the Diaspora (in the socio-cultural context of the troupe as they were caught between Russia’s civil war, in the period after the 1917 Revolution through 1922, and Korea under occupation by imperial Japan) shows the characteristics and meaning of the performances on the history of Korean modern dance, through analysis of performance activities and structures, member composition, the role of major leaders, and the troupe’s repertory of performances. At the same time, this study provides a foundation to understand the Korean Diaspora in Russia Like Lee Kang, Han Yong-Hun and Kwak Byuing-Gyu, the leaders of the Korean art troupe in Russia were leaders of the religious community who had participated in the Korean Independence Movement in the maritime province of Russia. Most of them were non-professionals and each group had a small number of members. Their art form followed “Estrada,” a typical people’s performing art which were popular folk dance touring performances in Russia at the time. In the history of modern dance in Korea, the significance of the performances of the Korean immigrant art troupe from Russia is as follows. First, as the initial overseas Korean performing arts group, they inspired Koreans to pay attention to the problems of overseas Koreans through the promotion of their visit to Korea; they helped build a national identity across borders. Secondly, this art troupe, as part of the Korean Diaspora, became a cultural bridge between people in Korea and Koreans in Russia. Lastly, the art troupe supported the Korean Independence Movement. However, the performances were forced to stop, for political reasons, by the birth of the Soviet Union on December 30, 1922. Research methods include literature and library research, field surveys, including existing literature in the National Russian Library of East Asian Literature, materials made from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs kept in the National Institute of Korean History, Dong-A Ilbo, Mae-il Shinnbo, and Sunbong, the Korean newspaper published in the maritime province of Russia.

This paper examines the meaning of the traditional dance culture that Korean people, particularly focusing on the CIS(Commonwealth of Independent States) have preserved in other countries through the tradition of Korean traditional culture. Furthermore, using online press release and publications, the authors Xaim to study its meaning within the Korean dance history. The research on Korean diaspora culture and their traditional dance activities is being done rarely by the Korean Dance Department. It could be said that research about the Goryeo people living in the CIS is practically nonexistent. Currently, the tradition of the former Soviet art group has been revived and continues its tradition. The succession of traditional dance culture plays an important role in instilling a sense of bond and shared identity with Korean people the same. In CIS, several Goryeo delegates cultivate young dancers, but they are inheriting traditional dances through cultural exchanges through culture with Korea. Korean dancers should be interested in them because CIS dancers Goreyo dancers are thirsty for continuous exchange with Korea, such as performances and workshops. The CIS Goryeo people underwent a catastrophic change of history in the past 150-year history of immigration to Russia, the Soviet Union, and the CIS. They have followed the Soviet policy for survival but lived with dual characteristics that does not forget the tradition of their origin. They are forming a distinctive culture. Their activities indicate the possibility of expanding the area of Korean culture and arts. The exchange with them will go beyond sharing the tradition of Korean people, and will form a traditional network that can promote Korean culture even in regions where there is no exchange with Korea through the Goryeo people spreading across Eurasia in transnational countries. I think that this will contribute to expansion of Korean dance. In the future, Korean dancers will have to embrace Korean diaspora dance culture, and at the same time, I hope that Korean dance culture will spread to the world.

This study examines the life and art of a choreographer Akram Khan, who has a dual identity of Bangladesh origin and British nationality, and choreographed about his cultural identity through his solo work Desh. For this purpose, this study analyzes related articles and interviews of preliminary researches, books and media both in Korea and abroad, reviews of critics, internet materials, and programs. As a result, first, he indirectly enumerated the surface of his wandering identity that does not know where to go and where to stand and created relationships in expressions of various characters coexisting in that space directing artistic representation of past, present, and virtual spaces. This dualism of diaspora empathy is the core theme of the work by forming the diaspora of Akram Khan with an emotion different from that of the first generation immigrants. Second, his personal interpretation of communication and exchange with different identities in a confused culture is projected in his work through a personal story that bears two cultures, Bangladesh and England. Especially, these works have been sublimated into artistic aspects, and fused with artists, music, lighting, set, and animation in other fields with a focus on dance in the works, and created a mise-en-scene that leads to artistic trends in the 21st century. Third, Kathak that he learned in his childhood has become the footstep of his art world. In particular, the acceptance of the narrative elements and movements of the Kathak has created his own language. In conclusion, Akram Khan's "identity" is the source of his artistic inspiration, and he respects the heterogeneity of his identity from his own perspective, this is sometimes different from the that of the other.