Chuseok event in September 2024 at Korean Cultural Center in Washington
By Kang Gahui
Photos = Ministry of Culture, Sports, Tourism
Twenty-three Korean Cultural Centers (KCC) in 20 countries will host cultural events to mark Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) and Hangeul (Korean alphabet) Day, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on Oct. 2.
The KCC in Washington on Oct. 4 will host cultural events to mark Chuseok in collaboration with the National Museum of Asian Art of the Smithsonian Institution featuring ssireum (traditional wrestling).
The center in Paris from Oct. 1-10 will host a Korean cultural festival in the western French port city of La Rochelle. Visitors can learn to make songpyeon (half moon-shaped rice cake), try on Hanbok (traditional clothing) and play folk games.
Free screenings of Korean movies will be held at the KCCs in Sweden and Australia. The center in Stockholm from Oct. 11-12 will feature key movies such as the historical epic "Ode to My Father," dramatic comedy "I Can Speak" and "Harbin," a work about freedom fighter Ahn Jung-geun, while that in Sydney will host an Australian-Korean event showing Korean works in small and medium Australian cities.
In the Philippines, the KCC in Manila from Oct. 6-11 will host an interactive event featuring the animated blockbuster "KPop Demon Hunters." Visitors can make traditional knots and draw jakhodo (folk painting of tigers).
The centers in Belgium, Thailand and Vietnam will host programs on traditional cultural experiences such as songpyeon and samulnori (traditional percussion music).
Events to celebrate Hangeul Day will continue the festive mood. The KCC in Tokyo on Oct. 9 will host an essay writing contest for bilateral exchange and another for Hangeul calligraphy, while that in Osaka on Oct. 11 will hold an awards ceremony for a Hangeul writing contest.
In New York, the KCC since Sept. 26 has toured major universities on the U.S. East Coast with artist Kang Ik-joong's "Hangeul Truck," a showcase of digital art highlighting Hangeul.
"Hangeul Truck" by visual artist Kang Ik-Joong
Other Hangeul-themed events at KCCs around the globe include a poetry reading contest in Moscow; Korean speaking contest in South Africa; and interactive events in Hangeul calligraphy in the U.K., Austria and Hungary.
kgh89@korea.kr