NAKJI

Improvised music and songs for the Korean diaspora

Nakji is a type of small octopus native to Korea, known for its ability to adapt quickly to foreign environments. The hanja characters chosen carry additional meaning for this name: nak (樂) means joy and at times music itself, ji (知) means knowledge. So within the name Nakji, there is intention to understand the various layers of joy more deeply. The music of Nakji weaves stories from the Korean diaspora into songs and improvisations--at once complicating, contextualizing, clarifying by undefining Koreanness.