Han Narea Marks 10 Years of Korean Arts and Tradition in Houston

photo / Han Narea founder and director Hyun Suk Heo performs a Nanta percussion routine set to BTS’s “Arirang” during a Mid-Autumn Festival celebration hosted by Houston Vietnamese TV on Sept. 19.

[TexasN = HOUSTON]  Ten years ago, Hyun Suk Heo had a simple but ambitious goal: to see traditional Korean culture presented on major stages and in theaters where broader American audiences could experience its depth and beauty.

At the time, Korean popular culture was gaining an increasingly visible presence in the United States. But Heo saw another side of Korean culture that remained far less familiar to many Americans — the dances, rhythms, instruments and performing traditions that had been passed down for generations.

She wanted to create a place for those traditions in Houston.

That vision became Han Narea, a Houston-based Korean traditional arts organization that is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

Formally incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 2016, Han Narea takes its name from the idea of “Korean Wings.” From the beginning, its mission was not simply to stage performances, but to build a lasting cultural bridge between Korea and the diverse communities of Greater Houston.

A decade later, Han Narea has performed and collaborated with some of Houston’s best-known cultural institutions, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Discovery Green and Asia Society Texas Center.

But the organization’s story began on a much smaller stage.

A Beginning in a School Cafeteria

Before Han Narea was formally established, Heo worked with a local Korean farmer dance group and began exploring how traditional performances resonated with Houston audiences.

A turning point came when she connected with a faculty adviser involved with the Korean club at Seven Lakes High School. They shared an interest in giving young people opportunities to experience Korean culture beyond what they encountered through popular music and entertainment.

That partnership helped lead to the first Katy Korean Culture Night at Seven Lakes High School.

Professional traditional artists were introduced to local audiences, while students were given their own opportunity to express their interest in Korean culture.

The first event was held in the school cafeteria.

As interest grew, so did the event. By 2018, the program had moved into the school theater.

For Heo, it was an early sign that traditional Korean performing arts could find an audience in Houston if people were given the opportunity to encounter them.

Building Community Through “Gayeon”

One idea has remained central to Han Narea throughout its first decade: “Gayeon,” or 가연, which the organization describes as a joyful connection formed through shared culture.

That philosophy helped shape Han Narea into more than a performance group.

Heo opened traditional dance and music classes to people of different ages and backgrounds. Students learned everything from the detailed movements of Korean regional dances to the complex rhythms of the janggu, the hourglass-shaped double-headed drum used throughout Korean traditional music.

Over time, some students became performers themselves and joined Han Narea’s performance team. They, in turn, brought Korean traditional arts into schools, festivals and community events across the Houston area.

In that sense, Han Narea’s work became a cycle: learn the tradition, perform it, share it and pass it on.

The organization’s popular Hanbok Photo Booth at the Houston Korean Festival, or K-Fest, grew from the same philosophy.

Created in partnership with the Korean American Society of Houston, the booth initially served as a creative way to raise funds for Han Narea’s cultural and charitable programs. It eventually became a familiar part of the annual festival.

For many visitors, putting on a hanbok and taking a photograph may last only a few minutes. But it can also be a first personal encounter with Korean heritage.

Taking Living Korean Culture Into Houston’s Museums

As Han Narea grew, its work expanded beyond Korean community events.

Its partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston became an important part of that evolution.

Through programming connected with the museum’s Arts of Korea Gallery, Han Narea helped bring performing arts into a space where visitors were already encountering Korean history and visual culture.

The organization has also brought professional performers from Korea to Houston, including Samulnori Newdot and the all-women percussion ensemble Dori.

The idea was to allow audiences to experience Korean culture not only through objects on display, but through sound, rhythm and movement.

Han Narea also developed collaborations with Discovery Green, participating in major multicultural events such as Lunar New Year celebrations in downtown Houston.

At Asia Society Texas Center, the organization has taken part in programs including Super Saturday while also developing cultural events with a more personal purpose.

Among those are programs for Korean adoptees and their families.

Helping Korean Adoptees Reconnect With Their Roots

The Korean adoptee program has become one of Han Narea’s most meaningful community projects.

For adoptees who were born in Korea but grew up with limited opportunities to experience Korean traditions, the program offers another way to approach questions of heritage and identity — through dance, food, art and shared experiences rather than through lectures alone.

Han Narea first hosted Korean adoptees for a traditional cultural experience and Korean meal in 2023. The program returns this year for its fourth gathering.

On Oct. 17, Korean adoptees will take part in a seminar and tour of the Korean gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. They will then travel to Houston’s Korean community for Han Narea’s anniversary performance, “Eolssu Hanmadang.”

The day is designed to connect different expressions of Korean culture, from art in a museum gallery to contemporary performers carrying traditional arts onto the stage.

Ten Years Later, the Original Dream Remains

After a decade, Han Narea finds itself returning to the idea that inspired its creation in the first place: bringing high-quality Korean traditional performing arts to larger audiences and larger stages.

Its signature “Eolssu Hanmadang” program is part of that next chapter.

This year’s anniversary performance will feature E-eul, a young traditional performing arts team visiting from Korea. The group brings a contemporary sensibility to traditional Korean performance, creating a meeting point between inherited forms and the artistic language of a younger generation.

They will share the program with Han Narea, which has spent the past decade developing Korean traditional dance and cultural programming in Houston.

For Heo, bringing artists directly from Korea was part of the vision from the beginning. She wanted Han Narea to develop local performers while also creating opportunities for Houston audiences to see professional Korean artists without having to travel to Korea or another major U.S. cultural center.

In many ways, Han Narea’s first 10 years have been about creating stages.

A stage where a child can learn a Korean rhythm for the first time. A stage where a high school student can explore Korean culture. A stage where an artist from Seoul can meet an audience in Texas. And a stage where a Korean adoptee can encounter a part of their heritage on their own terms.

The venues have changed since that first gathering in a school cafeteria. The purpose has not.

For Han Narea, preserving tradition has never meant keeping it still. It has meant giving people a chance to experience it, participate in it and carry it forward.

Ten years after taking its first steps in Houston, Han Narea is still working toward that larger stage — one performance, one student and one connection at a time.

Catherine Wahrmund  amiangs0210@gmail.com