Best of ASEAN festivals to be held on summit sidelines

A wide variety of cultural offerings related to ASEAN countries will take place at many venues across the country in celebration of the 2014 ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit scheduled for December 11 and 12.

The ASEAN-Korea Center, an inter-governmental organization established with the aim of promoting exchanges between Korea and the ten ASEAN member states, recently revealed its plans to host a range of cultural programs, including the ASEAN Film Festival, the Jewels of ASEAN exhibit, the ASEAN on Wheels program and the ASEAN-Korea Youth Forum.

The Best of ASEAN is a range of festivals held on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit. They will take place between November 27 and December 14.

The ASEAN Film Festival 2014 will showcase ten films from Southeast Asia between November 27 and December 4. It will be one of the few opportunities for movie-goers to experience the works of Southeast Asian directors, both amateur and professional. Also, there will be an opportunity to meet and talk with the directors and crews who worked on each of the movies.

The Jewels of ASEAN exhibit is a display of each Southeast Asian nation's national landmarks. It will take place at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul from December 2 to 14. Visitors will be able to see models of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar, the skyline of Singapore and of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, among others.

The fifth ASEAN-Korea Frontier Forum opened on November 24 with 90 university students and young leaders from 11 countries in attendance. Designed to raise awareness of the importance of cooperation between Korea and ASEAN, and to expand networks between Asian youths, forum participants will discuss a range of topics including cooperation on responding to disasters, jobs for young people and revitalizing the tourism industry. The youth forum will announce a final resolution on November 28.

As part of the promotional campaign, ten ASEAN on Wheels buses, one based on each ASEAN nation, will visit locations across the city and offer curious onlookers the chance to learn more about each country's culture.

In addition, there will be the Song of Asia concert, the ASEAN-ROK Forum for Science & Technology Innovation and the ASEAN-ROK Academic Conference.

Busan, the host city of the official summit, will also host two special events. There will be the "Origin of Beauty" art exhibit and then the "Way to ASEAN" festival that will look at the everyday lives of people from both regions.

By Lee Seung-ah
Korea.net Staff Writer
slee27@korea.kr