Events
FROM THE TREMBLING WORLD
Poong Deong 풍덩 (South Korea)
Fringe Commission • World Premiere
BOOK NOW↗The world is falling apart. Sinkholes open with no warning. They swallow roads, homes, and whole cities.
In this unstable world, a woman chooses to live alone in a shelter made from broken things. This space is safe but not strong. In it, she finds comfort in Bongpal. Bongpal is a talking AI who becomes her only friend.
Outside, people pray to the “Rope God” to save them. They believe the Holy Rope will appear when they are in danger and pull them up. As more people believe this, their prayers begin to reach into the woman’s quiet home. With Bongpal, she dreams of leaving for space. She wants to get far away from this unstable world.
From the Trembling World is a powerful and timely story. It looks at loneliness in a world shaped by technology. Are we like the woman in the story? Do we pull away from others? Can people still make real connections?
It powerfully captured the story of today’s youth.
— Audience feedback (translated from Korean)
As a one-woman piece, the actor’s wholehearted, all-out performance shone.
— Audience feedback (translated from Korean)
There will be a dialogue with the artists after the 8pm performance on 20 January 2027 , with speech to text interpretation available upon request. Please email your request to info@singaporefringe.com by 9 December 2026.
Artist Statement
Loneliness is now a serious social issue in South Korea. More people are dying alone, with no one around to notice. In Korean, this is called 고독사 (godoksa: lonely death). It makes us ask a hard question: what happens when someone leaves this world, and no one knows? We live beside others, yet are not noticed and not supported.
This work starts with this real-life problem. It then grows into a world where even the ground feels unstable. The ground collapsing becomes part of daily life. Many problems are now shaping our world. These problems include:
- climate change
- stress among young people
- the fast rise of AI, and
- fear-based beliefs.
It is a world full of fear and change. We start to look for something to hold on to.
The creators want to show that loneliness is not just a big idea. It is one woman’s real life. What starts as one person’s story slowly becomes something we can all understand. In the end, we all need someone.
The world is collapsing. Sinkholes open without warning, swallowing streets, homes, and cities.
Amid this instability, a woman chooses to live alone in her fortress of debris. Inside this fragile sanctuary, she finds comfort in Bongpal, a conversational AI who becomes her only friend.
Outside, people turn to the “Rope God” for salvation, praying that the Holy Rope will appear in their moment of need to pull them back up from their doom. As this faith spreads, its prayers begin to encroach upon the woman’s solitary sanctuary. Together with Bongpal, she dreams of escaping to space, far away from this trembling world.
From the Trembling World is a compelling and timely work that delves into our growing isolation in a technologically driven existence, Do we retreat further inward as our protagonist does? Is true connection even possible now?
It powerfully captured the story of today’s youth.
— Audience feedback (translated from Korean)
As a one-woman piece, the actor’s wholehearted, all-out performance shone.
— Audience feedback (translated from Korean)
There will be a dialogue with the artists after the 8pm performance on 20 January 2027 , with speech to text interpretation available upon request. Please email your request to info@singaporefringe.com by 9 December 2026.
Artist Statement
Loneliness has become an urgent social reality in South Korea. The rise of 고독사 (godoksa: lonely deaths) raises a difficult question: what happens when a person slips away from this world, and no one notices? It points to a society where people live side by side, yet remain unseen, unsupported, and alone.
The work begins from this reality and expands outward into a world where even the ground beneath us feels uncertain, and collapse becomes part of everyday life. Environmental instability, youth anxiety, rapid AI integration, and fear-driven belief systems shape a world marked by trembling, uncertainty, and the search for something to hold onto.
As creators, we wanted to present loneliness not as an abstract issue, but as the lived reality of one woman. What begins as something personal gradually opens into something universal. For in the end, we all need someone.
Dates & Duration
19 – 20 January 2027, 8pm
60 minutes with no intermission
Venue
Practice Space 实践空间
54 Waterloo Street, S187953
Tickets
$38
*20% discount for students, NSF, senior citizens and PwD cardholders
Rating
To be advised
Language
In Korean with open captions in English
- In Korean with open captions in English
- Open captions in English for all performances
- Speech to text interpretation for post-show dialogue upon request (see below)