People For Earth

Seeking Climate Solutions with the Spirit of Silhak: "What Day" Musical and Forum Held
On June 5th, the 2025 "What Day" Forum, an academic-arts convergence event commemorating World Environment Day, was held at the Yeolsu Hall on the first floor of the Silhak Museum. The event was hosted by Gyeonggi Province and co-organized by the Silhak Museum, People for Earth, and Jigu I (Earth Eye). This special event was created to re-examine the true meaning of numerous environmental commemorative days, remember lives that have already vanished, and pledge deep coexistence with endangered species. It was a new platform for living together.

▲ Seeking Climate Solutions from Silhak & Expert Lectures
 

The forum began with a keynote lecture by Gyeonggi Province Climate Ambassador Geum-sil Kang titled, "The Spirit of Silhak Responding to the Climate Crisis." Silhak is a school of thought from the Joseon Dynasty that emphasizes practical learning and scientific approaches to real-world problems. Following her, Dr. Woo-seok Gong, Director of the Climate Change and Ecosystem Research Institute, examined the impact of climate change on pine trees, which have a long history with the Korean people, in his talk "Pine Trees in Time and Space - Silhak Questions and Answers." Additionally, Professor Dong-seok Oh of Ajou University Law School discussed the transition to an ecological constitution and its connection to Silhak in his lecture, "Silhak, Earth Jurisprudence, and Constitutional Amendment," exploring ways to apply Silhak's vision to a new legal framework.

▲ The Convergence of Academia and Art: The "What Day" Musical
 

"I'm already extinct."
"I'm on the brink of extinction."
"Why was a commemorative day made for me?"
"What day?"
"So we're here!"

Following the academic lectures, the "What Day" musical took the stage. The musical posed questions about human-centric environmental days and brought non-human beings, including endangered species, to life through art to reflect on the true meaning of coexistence. Based on the real stories of youth climate activists Eun-bin Kang and Seo-hae, this musical emotionally realized the concept of Biocracy—a pluralistic and egalitarian community encompassing future generations and non-human life—through music and theater.

In addition, the What Day Band (Sorikkun Hyun-joo Song, cellist Seo-yeon Lee, wind instrumentalist Chorong Oh, keyboardist Min-ji Kim, and Janggu player Solji Kim) performed their new song "A Small Breath," the traditional folk song "Gangsan Pungwol," and a remade version of Shin Hyung-won's "My Home Ground," expressing the profound relationship between humans and the living community through their music. The performance was co-directed by Yeong-deok Kang, CEO of Jigu I, and Solji Kim, a recipient of the Baeksang Arts Award for Young Theater Artist, and featured actors Geon-hui Lee and Dong-seok Oh.

▲ "Silhak Village" Earth Festival: Sharing Coexistence over a Warm Meal
After the forum and performance, a networking party, the "Silhak Village" Earth Festival, followed, held in partnership with the Dumeori Kitchen. Participants shared warm home-cooked meals made with fresh local produce. Conversations sparked by the values long upheld by Dumeori Kitchen and the inspiration gained from the "What Day" Forum created a truly meaningful and practical gathering in the spirit of Silhak. Through this warm meal, all participants exchanged ideas and reflected on the precious meaning of coexistence.

[Climate Change and Silhak Forum "What Day" - Academic Film]

[Climate Change and Silhak Forum "What Day" - Art Film]