By Honorary Reporter Mathilde Elisabeth Varboki from France
Photos = Mathilde Elisabeth Varboki

The Korean Culture Centre in Brussels, Belgium, from June 17-18 held the festival Korean Culture Days-Hallyu Town at Place de Brouckere, and I volunteered at the event, which this year marked the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and the European Union.

Booths and activities celebrating Korean culture attracted over 47,000 visitors from all over Europe. Korean companies presented food and cosmetics. Busan promoted its bid for the 2030 World Expo and others sold Korean books or modern Hanbok (traditional clothing). Visitors could also try on Hanbok or play traditional games appearing in the hit Netflix series "Squid Game" like tuho (pitch pot), tug-of-war, jegichagi (kicking a shuttlecock) and Red Light, Green Light to win gift cards.

Other events included dance performances, cooking workshops, quizzes, and shows by K-pop acts OnlyOneOf, CRS (Cheotsarang) and Paul Kim and the traditional music group Esang.

As a volunteer, I helped the organizing team set up booths for the games and managed the tuho section as players threw arrows into a large container. I also joined a cooking workshop on the first day with a Korean chef and made kimchi jeon (pancake), which was given backstage for the performing Korean artists.

During the festival, OnlyOneOf and CSR visited booths to help promote the latter's businesses. We helped their security guards and Korean staff escort both groups through the crowd. Some fans screamed or breached the security barriers but everything went well without a hitch.

I also helped manage crowds during the two concerts, supervising the monitoring of an area for people with reduced mobility and young children. Security had to intervene several times because of a few incidents, but nothing major happened (despite rain surprisingly falling on a Saturday evening).

My unforgettable experience at the festival more than made up for the pain in my legs. I'm proud to have played a part in the smooth running of this event.

msjeon22@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.