The 51st Los Angeles Korean Festival will be held at Seoul International Park in Koreatown from September 26 to 29.
The LA Korean Festival Foundation said it has prepared a variety of “things to see, eat, and do” for four days and invited all residents to attend.
The theme of this year’s festival is “Celebrating Diversity”. The festival will be the leading Korean cultural festival in the city and county of Los Angeles. The festival’s foundation emphasized that it has been actively reaching out to non-Korean visitors and other communities and that the Korean festival is for everyone in the community.
The four-day festival will feature cultural performances by Korean and local celebrities, an expo of Korean local governments and small businesses, information about local government offices and nonprofit organizations, and a food market.
The festival will feature popular Korean pop singers and local musicians from LA, recognizing the popularity of the Korean Wave.
The foundation especially put a great effort into the opening show at 8:30 p.m. on September 26, which marks the start of the festival. The foundation will hold a separate opening ceremony for dignitaries, and then announce the start of the festival with an opening performance on the center stage at Seoul International Park.
The opening performance will be hosted by Jerome and Bettina, a couple from the Korean entertainment program “Love After Divorce”. Artists Killagramz, Justin Park, and As One will also perform.
On the second day on September 27, the “2024 LA K-Pop Festival” will be hosted by comedian and host Paul ‘PK’ Kim. In addition, Team M TKD will perform an artistic performance based on traditional Taekwondo. On September 28, popular artists such as Hohyun, Kevin Chung, Suran, and Kim Woo Jin will take the stage, while Korean-American and community performers will provide a variety of entertainment.
At the closing ceremony on Sunday on September 29, singer Hong Kyung Min, known as Korea’s Ricky Martin, and singer Kim Hyun Jung, known for her powerful vocals and performances, will perform their numerous hits.
The festival foundation said that the Korean Agriculture Expo, which has gained popularity every year, will bring back the flavors and memories of hometown Korea.
This year’s expo will feature 56 Korean local governments, including Gyeongsangbuk-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, Jeollabuk-do, Jeollabuk-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, Chungcheongnam-do, Jeju-do, Gangwon-do, City of Daegu, and Dobong-gu Office, as well as small and medium-sized businesses.
A total of 169 exhibitors will be participating in the expo, setting up a total of 291 specialty products and market booths. Visitors to the festival will be able to purchase local specialties such as seaweed, dried fish, sesame oil and perilla oil, anchovies, chili powder, kimchi, red ginseng, black garlic, and citrus chips at affordable prices for four days.
Among Korean local governments, Hong Joon Pyo, mayor of Daegu, Chun Young Ki, mayor of Tongyeong, Park Namseo, mayor of Yeongju, Lee Chung-woo, mayor of Yeoju, Song Inheon, mayor of Gosan-gun, and Park Chang-hwan, vice governor of Jeollanam-do will visit the festival.
The food booths will sell a variety of Korean foods such as barbecue, grilled corn, and shaved ice.
There will be a Korean Toys and Premium Products Expo, photo booth, hanbok wearing, and various experience booths such as paper art, calligraphy, and performances by local organizations.
“The LA Korean Festival is evolving into a global festival where both Koreans and people from various communities come together to enjoy,” said Alex Cha, Chairman of the festival foundation. “We have prepared a lot of special cultural events, and we hope that many people will enjoy the festival as we have done our best to make it a success.”
For more information about the 51st LA Korean Festival, visit lakoreanfestival.org.
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM, HOONSIK WOO [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
