Irvine Korean Cultural Festival is to be held on Saturday May 14th at Irvine Civic Center.
With a large population of 1st, 1.5th, and 2nd generation Korean Americans living in the Irvine City, the Annual Irvine Korean Cultural Festivals have been held with an aim to help spread Korea’s beautiful traditions and taste. With its increasing size every year, Irvine Korean Cultural Festival is solidifying its position as a local event that is not limited to Korean community, but inviting every ethnic group in the area.
This year, festival team is paying a special attention in order to introduce Korean Culture to more people. “Last year, visitors increased to more than 10,000 from 7,000 the year before, thanks to advertisements on media of other ethnic groups,” said Diane Kim, Executive Director of the festival. “This year again, we will take advantage of media advertisements on different media, including OC Register, OC Weekly, and Irvine World News.”
This year’s festival is even more special with its emphasis on cultural education for those who are unfamiliar with Korean culture. “We decided to build boards as a tool to give knowledge about Korean culture, in addition to programs of traditional music, K-pop, and Taekwondo,” said Daniel Park, the Festival Chair. Each cultural contents board will have pictures and detailed explanation about a cultural theme. “For example,” explained Kim, “by reading about Korean food customs and traditions, such as a “Bapsang” comprised of rice and different Banchans, people will be able to understand Korean food and related culture better.”
There also will be a lecture held during the festival. Bass Won Cho of UAB and Soprano Kyoung Cho of USF will give lecture about the history of Korean traditional music, Western music’s influence on Korean music, and impact of Korean music and Western music on each other.
Games, foods, exhibitions, face painting, balloon arts, and other programs are also awaiting. This year, with expanded food court from 10 booths to 15, visitors will be offered with more options of delectable Korean foods.
Original document available from www.koreadaily.com/news/read.asp?art_id=4147322
Translated by Heewon Kim
