As a Korean actress exposed both to traditional Korean modes of training and performance and to contemporary Western acting methods, Jeung-Sook Yoo has explored a way to reconcile her ‘Korean-ness’ with contemporary sensibilities. She is currently pursuing a PhD research at Exeter aiming to develop a theory and practice of contemporary acting and actor training by introducing a Korean perspective based on the principles and practices of a Korean form of meditation, DahnHak.

In addition to DahnHak which Jeung-Sook Yoo has practiced since 1999, experiencing Phillip Zarrilli’s approach to integration of Western and non-Western paradigms of acting has inspired her practice-based research. She has trained in yoga, kalarippayattu, and taichichuan (Wu style) under Phillip Zarrilli since 2001, as well as working as his assistant for workshops held by Gardzienice Theatre Association (Poland), Theatre Training and Research Programme (Singapore), and Department of Theatre Arts and Dance at the University of Minnesota (USA).

Jeung-Sook Yoo has performed in The Maids (Jean Genet), Eftermaele: that which will be said afterwards (a devised work facilitated by Phillip Zarrilli), The Bald Soprano (Eugène Ionesco), The Water Station (Ota Shogo), and directed Killing Game (Eugène Ionesco), Footfalls, and Waiting for Godot (Samuel Beckett).

Images courtesy Jeung-Sook Yoo