Sun Yoo

This performance explores the state of human existence through the use of everyday food ingredients and kitchen tools: white radish, red sauce, a cutting board, a knife, and a plate. The work was first developed in response to the question: “How do you define your surroundings?” At the time, I had just entered a com- pletely new environment—new culture, people, language, and daily structures. What I felt most strongly was a sense of alienation. There seemed to be an invisible gap between myself, as someone who had just arrived, and the society that was already established. I noticed the constant effort required to step inside this “bubble”—to feel a sense of belonging, to build a comfort zone of emotional support, acknowledg- ment, and safety in which one can reveal their true character. I asked myself: why couldn’t I remove this isolated and alienated feeling? Was it cultural difference? The desire to be good, feelings of sym- pathy, jealousy, envy, or desire? These emotions reveal a kind of duality. They are natural to human beings, yet when they surface strongly, beyond appearances, they often become a ground for judgment—placing others as equal to, or lower than, oneself. In Korean, there is a word that directly relates to this: kkakdugi. It refers both to a type of cubed radish kimchi, and colloquially, to an “out- sider.” My performance began with this metaphor as a way to describe my own position in a new environment. But as I continue to reflect on the work, it grows beyond autobiography. It points to something more fundamental about human nature: our emotions, our patterns of living, and the double-sidedness within us all. The performance is an ongoing research into these conditions of being human.

This performance started from daily observations that I captured in drawings. These were things I could not grasp or hold physically, such as repetitive machine movements or unintended sounds. Eventually, I translated these into a physical performance.