By Honorary Reporter Gadis Rabiatul Adawiah from Indonesia
Photos = Gadis Rabiatul Adawiah 

August 2017 was a memorable month for me as I got to learn traditional Korean dance for the first time and performed at the Korean Culture Center in Jakarta. Buchaechum (traditional fan dance) is usually performed by women and was officially performed for the first time by dancer Kim Baek-bong in 1954. The dancers move using fans decorated with peonies while wearing brightly colored Hanbok.

I studied this dance for two weeks with Lee Ji-yeon, a professional teacher of traditional dance from Korea. Because of the short duration, we had to pay attention and quickly memorize what we learned. Learning this dance also made me fall in love with Korean culture like samulnori (traditional percussion music).

I liked the movements and beauty of buchaechum as well as the music. The course was taught in Korean, and though I often didn't understand what the teacher said, I could follow her moves.

Two weeks were not enough to learn the dance's choreography, but I got to be friends with my classmates and our teacher. Finally, on the night of our performance, our teacher encouraged us to do our best. Thanks to dedicated practice, cooperation and our teacher's encouragement, we pulled off the performance without error.

The night after the performance, our teacher invited all of us to dinner at a chicken restaurant across from the building where we practiced. During rehearsal, she was strict but that night, she was a humble and funny person. She said she was strict because she wanted us to do our best that night. We all cried when we had to say goodbye. We exchanged contact information and my teacher told everyone to look her up if anyone visited Korea.

In October 2018, I finally visited Korea for the first time and saw the teacher. She kindly took me for a walk in Seoul and I also met her two daughters, who were both adorable and spoke English well. 

My teacher took me to Seoul's famous Hanok Village, which was founded in the 1920s. Each alley is filled with intriguing shops and cafes decorated with unique characters, thus visitors often take photos here. 

After we went sightseeing in the city, we ended up eating at a French restaurant in a Hanok (traditional Korean house). On this sweet and memorable day, I felt so grateful to have such a kind dance teacher. 

kalhong617@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.