“The Asia Pacific Cultural Center in Tacoma will present a special concert of Kyông Sôdo Sori:, folk songs from North and South Korea, on Sunday, May 27, at the Pantages Theater in Tacoma.The concert, which will begin at 7 p.m., will be performed by master musicians who are recognized in their country as national living treasures. NorthwestFolklife, sponsored by the Allen Foundation of Music, is collaborating with the Asia Pacific Cultural Center on the performance.The performers are designated by the Korean government as the Bearers of Important Intangible Cultural Properties #19 (Sôn Sori T’aryông), #29 (Sôdo Sori), #57 (Kyônggi Minyo), and #104 (Seoul Saenam Kut). Six musicians from Seoul, that includes three singers and three instrumentalists, will perform the folk songs and instrumental music.This festival concert of music from North and South Korea will be in celebration of the historical beginn-ing of diplomacy between the North and the South after fifty-five years of separation.Kyông Sôdo Sori means folk songs from Kyông (short for Kyônggi Province) and Sôdo area. Kyônggi Province and the Seoul area are located in the central region of the peninsula in South Korea, while Sôdo refers to the three northwestern provinces-Hwanghae Province, North P’yôngan Province, and South P’yôngan Province–located in North Korea.Sôdo Sori is a musical tradition believed to be lost in present day North Korea but kept alive in South Korea by a few singers who came from the North to the South after Korea was divided into two nation states in 1945.Performance tickets are $15 for students, seniors and members, and $20 general admissionTickets can be ordered by check by addressing them to the APCC, P.O. Box 112157, Tacoma, WA 98411. Tickets ordered by mail and received by May 17 will be mailed to customers. After that date, tickets are will call at the theater. Visa and Mastercard will be accepted. The respected Korean musicians will also perform at the Northwest Folklife Festival on Saturday, May 26, at the Seattle Center Opera House. Admission there is free due to a grant by the Allen Foundation of Music. “