By Honorary Reporter Bruna Pires from Portugal
Photos = Korean Embassy in Lisbon

The most anticipated event for Hallyu lovers in Portugal happened on July 2 in Lisbon. Both the Korean Culture Fest and K-Pop World Festival of Portugal were held at Pimenta Palace, the headquarters of the Museum of Lisbon, with both events organized by the Korean Embassy in Portugal. 

The festival was the first since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year's edition saw around 1,800 people of all ages enjoying Korean music and traditional activities.

The festival had performances on the main stage like taekwondo and K-pop dance covers, in addition to traditional dance and musical numbers performed by Korean artists playing instruments like the zither gayageum and doing taepyeongmu, a dance wishing for prosperity characterized by large and fast feet movement.

The many interactive programs featured workshops for Hansik (Korean cuisine), cosmetics, maedeup (traditional decorative knotting), Korean calligraphy, tal (folk masks) and minhwa (folk painting). Other activities included trying on Hanbok, playing traditional games such as ddakji (flipping paper tiles) and listening to folktales. 

For those curious about life in Korea, Portuguese who lived in Korea held informal talks and King Sejong Institute ran a booth with information on its Korean-language courses.

For foodies, the main attraction was sampling Korean food and drink such as soju (traditional clear liquor), makgeolli (milky rice wine) and gim (laver). Lunch time saw traditional dishes, snacks and drinks on sale from Korean restaurants and stores in Oporto and Lisbon that took part in the festival.

Korean pop music fans eagerly awaited the K-Pop World Festival, with participants hoping to win the contest. The audience could also win prizes through Mini Quiz on Korea. And finally, everyone grooved during the energetic activity "Random Play Dance."

This was my first time to attend the festival, but I look forward to more interesting activities at next year's event. This was a great way to experience Hallyu outside of Korea.

enny0611@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.