The Korean Cultural Festival DC 2022 on Oct. 10 was opened in Washington. Shown is a group of dancers performing at the opening ceremony held at Lisner Auditorium of George Washington University. (Yonhap News) 

By Yoon Sojung

The 2022 Korean Cultural Festival was opened on Oct. 10 in Washington.

Cohosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Embassy in Washington, the festival marks the 140th anniversary of Korea-U.S. ties this year and runs through Nov. 1 to boost bilateral understanding and exchanges through culture.

The opening ceremony at Lisner Auditorium of George Washington University (GWU) included performances of the traditional Korean drum buk harmonized with samulnori (traditional farmers' percussion music) and K-pop and a taekwondo demonstration from Kukkiwon, the headquarters of the martial art's global governing body World Taekwondo.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo Gyoon said at the ceremony, "President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden proposed a future blueprint for upgrading the Korea-U.S. alliance, which marks its 70th anniversary next year, as a global comprehensive strategic alliance," adding, "Culture is the foundation for the completion of this blueprint through close means."

A combined 15 organizations and culture and arts groups from both countries worked together to prepare this year's festival, including the Korean National Contemporary Dance Company (KNCDC), Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, Kukkiwon and Old Korean Legation Museum from the Korean side and the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, World Bank and its sister organization International Finance Corp., and Washington Ballet from the American side.

Nine programs on Korean culture in a range of genres will be held in the U.S. capital including an exhibition on Hanji (traditional handmade paper) titled "Beyond Paper" (Oct. 7-Nov. 4) at the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in Washington, another on Hanbok (traditional costumes) titled "Korean Fashion: From Royal Court to Runway" co-hosted by GWU (Oct. 7-Nov. 4) at the latter's Textile Museum, "Korean Literature Night" with author Jeong You-Jeong (Oct. 20) at the university's Jack Morton Auditorium and "K-Cinema Highlights" (Oct. 26-28) at the KCC.

On the festival's final day (Nov. 1), the KNCDC and Washington Ballet will perform a joint work in the closing performance on "Korean-American Friendship Night" at the Kennedy Center. The Korean side will perform "This Is Not a Game" and the American side "Homecoming," and while performing together, both troupes will display the bilateral friendship built over 140 years and show how the two countries became one through culture.

More information on the festival is available on its official site (www.koreaculturedc.org).

arete@korea.kr