The 39th Arirang Festival succeeded in attracting audiences and laid the foundation for a multicultural festival.
This year’s festival, organized by the Korean Festival Committee of Orange County in collaboration with the Vietnamese community for the first time in the festival’s history, was held at Garden Grove Park for four days from October 12 to 15. The festival was packed with visitors all four days. The stage and food court were busy until late at night.
The number of Vietnamese visitors especially increased in the evening. “We had a total of about 30,000 visitors over the four days,” says President Jung. “That’s six times more than last year when the festival was held at US Metrobank Mall.”
Korean and Vietnamese visitors cheered and applauded as they enjoyed a fashion show featuring traditional Korean and Vietnamese costumes, including Hanbok and Áo dài. In addition to the fashion show, events coincided with games and performances by Korean and Vietnamese community singers, and a K-pop contest.
The organizers made sure that visitors could enjoy both cultures. Volunteer Vietnamese girls wore traditional Áo dài and traditional costumes, while boys wore old Vietnamese soldier costumes and carried model spears, creating a unique atmosphere.
This year’s festival featured 40 food courts, four to five times as many as in previous years. The majority of these were run by Vietnamese, with only three Korean-owned booths. In addition to traditional food, Vietnamese food booths offered juices, barbecue skewers, and more.
There were not as many merchandise booths as in previous years. “Since the Arirang Festival was held at the same time as the World Korean Business Convention and the LA Korean Festival, it was difficult to attract Korean specialty products and general merchandise booths,” says Jung. “This was expected, but we don’t mind because we focused on promoting the festival itself to people who came to the World Korean Business Convention. We are satisfied that many visitors came.”
“I received a proposal from an Asian organization to hold next year’s Asian festival with communities from about 10 countries, including China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Cambodia, in addition to Korea and Vietnam. I think we laid the groundwork for that this year. I think it would be great for the Asian community in Orange County to have a festival together, and we will look at it positively in the future.”
This year’s festival was praised for its expanded venue, parking lot, and increased safety measures such as security screening. On the other hand, the lack of tents for cast members, Korean volunteers, and diversity of products such as Korean specialties were cited as things to be improved.
BY LAWRENCE SANGHWAN LIM [lim.sanghwan@koreadaily.com]
