Festivals to promote the nation's cultural heritage will be held at the National Intangible Heritage Center this month and the next in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do Province. Shown here is a mudang, a female shaman who officiates rituals and perform divination in Korean folk religion, performing a salpurichum (spiritual purification dance) to reduce bad energy. The dance in 1990 was designated National Intangible Cultural Heritage. (K-Heritage TV of Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation)
By Kim Eun-young
A festival to promote and revive interest in the value of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), through which Korean traditions come alive, will be held this and next month the National Intangible Heritage Center in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do.
NIHC Director General Yi Kyunghoon on Sept. 14 told a media briefing at Korea House in Seoul's Jung-gu District, "To mark the 10th anniversary of the NIHC next year, we are preparing large-scale festivals featuring ICH," adding, "This year, four events -- an academic forum, video festival, comprehensive festival and invitational performances abroad -- will be held on a trial basis online and in person."
The 2022 ICH World Forum from Sept. 21-23 will have 30 experts from 12 countries shed new light on the importance of traditional knowledge, reexamine its value and share case studies from other countries.
From Sept. 23-25, the 2022 ICH Film Festival, under the theme "Food Culture," will screen 32 movies from 18 countries. The opening film is the short work "Pyeongyang Naengmyeon," which is about the head chef of Okryu-gwan, a famous naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles) restaurant in Pyeongyang, making the dish for the 2018 inter-Korean summit at the request of South Korea.
"Lambic: About Time and Passion," a film about beer culture in Belgium, and "Nothing Fancy: Diana Kennedy," a work featuring traditional Mexican food, will also be screened at the festival. Online screenings will run from Sept. 16-25.
Other shows featuring ICH include the NIHC-hosted Festival of Korean Intangible Cultural Heritage 2022 from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. Performances of such heritage will include those of salpurichum (spiritual purification dance) and daegeum sanjo (an instrumental folk music played solo on the daegeum, a bamboo flute), along with a talk concert by a figure designated National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
An interactive crafts event and display of the cultural heritage-designated figure's works are also scheduled.
To mark the 60th anniversary of relations between Korea and Mexico, a concert of "mariachi," a form of Mexican music on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, will be held from Oct. 7-8. "Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan," Mexico's leading mariachi group with a 125-year tradition, will play lively songs with string instruments and trumpets.
"The roots of Korean culture now known all over the world are based on our traditional culture like dance, music and design," Director General Yi said, "By experiencing ICH in daily life, we hope for improvement in quality of life and raising of cultural standards."
eykim86@korea.kr