by The ‘2022 Korean Culture Festival’, where you can meet all things Hallyu, opened a grand curtain on the eve of September 30. The 9-day journey began with the high interest and enthusiastic response of foreigners in Korea and Hallyu fans worldwide.
The 2022 Korean Culture Festival, hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Park Bo-gyun) and the Korea International Cultural Exchange Promotion Agency (Director Jeong Gil-hwa), is a global Hallyu festival that introduces various Korean cultures such as food, beauty, and fashion, as well as K-pop and drama. A rich and colorful program will be held at Gwanghwamun Square and Jamsil Stadium in Seoul until the 8th.
On September 30 (Fri), more than 3,000 foreigners and citizens in Korea filled Heungnyemun Square in Gyeongbokgung, where the eve of the ‘2022 Korean Culture Festival’ was held. Cheers and applause continued for the performance under the theme of ‘Korean culture, the future blooming in the palace.’ Chang-woo Seok, a prosthetic artist who pioneered a new genre of ‘ink croquis’ by combining Eastern calligraphy with Western croquis, created a sensation.
The Korean cantata ‘Hunminjeongeum, People’s Country,’ with a total of 90 orchestras and choirs, captivated the eyes and ears of the audience with its majestic and profound stage. At the end of the eve festival, the K-pop genre and street dance reinterpreted the traditional Korean folk game ‘Ganggangsullae,’ the image song ‘The-K Ganggangsullae’ from this year’s Korean Cultural Festival.
On the evening of the 1st (Sat), the pre-reserved seats for the opening festival held at the Gwanghwamun Plaza Play Madang closed early. About 3,000 domestic and foreign spectators enjoyed the performance in front of the stage and various plaza places.
The gala show in which musical actors performed the famous scenes of the drama that led the Korean Wave to the orchestra performance, and the drama talk show in which famous actors Hong Soo-ah and Seong-hwan Seong-hwan participated, confirmed the secret of K-drama’s popularity by hearing behind-the-scenes stories from the director and actors.
When singers Kyu-hyun, Kim Na-young, and Paul Kim (in alphabetical order) sang the song in a popular drama, there were not a few people who sang along from family members who went on a weekend outing to foreign tourists.
On the 2nd (Sun), at the ‘Talk and Stage’ held at Jamsil Sports Complex auxiliary stadium, about 2,000 fans who applied in advance joined the group The Boyz at the scene. On the 3rd (Mon), Oh My Girl met with fans and spread the charm of Hallyu content to the world. The K stage performance was accompanied by Brave Girls, BBG, CIEX, and Pentagon (alphabetical order). Despite the rain on both days, the spectators who came to the scene remained seated until the end of the performance.
The highlight of the festival, ‘The-K Concert,’ is receiving enthusiastic responses from social network services (SNS) every day as the top K-pop stars are in full force. On the 7th (Fri), ‘The-K Concert,’ which will be held at the Olympic Main Stadium in Jamsil Sports Complex, will include MONSTA X, Blanky, Stayc, Ive, NCT Dream, MCND, WJSN, Winner, Zico, CRAVITY (in alphabetical order). Will appear American singer-songwriter MAX is also with them.
The ‘2022 Korean Culture Festival’ is a festival created by Hallyu fans and artists, and the experience booths decorated by the fans also drew attention. At the site where the winning works of the K-Culture Challenge, conducted with the participation of Hallyu fans, were exhibited, works that suggested the artist’s makeup and stage costumes were unveiled, which received a favorable response from the audience. Visitors are also coming to the exhibition to gauge the competitiveness of Hallyu-related industries such as K-food, beauty, fashion, crafts, and living.
The ‘The-K Parade,’ which will decorate the finale of the ‘2022 Korean Culture Festival’ on the 8th, will be attended by more than 2,000 people, including citizens and local art groups. Starting from Jongno 5-ga and marching through the city to Gwanghwamun Square, we plan to provide an experience of becoming one with ‘The-K.’ In addition, the exceptional performance of ‘The K Ganggangsullae,’ where you can meet the essence of Korean culture excitingly and dynamically, will also be held.
