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Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

The 2014 Korea-China Cultural Festival took place in Seoul from October 17 to 19 and showcased various art displays and performances in celebration of the 22nd anniversary of the two countries' modern diplomatic relationship.

The festival began in Beijing in August 2007 and has since alternated between the two nations to promote mutual exchanges between regional governments in terms of tourism, education and the performing arts. From 2007 to 2013, over 200,000 people enjoyed and visited the festival.

The opening ceremony for the 12th festival took place at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill hotel. Among the guests at the festival wereKim Jae-won, director of the Korea Culture and Information Service (KOCIS), Shi Ruilin, director of the Chinese Cultural Center in Korea, and Qu Huan, chairman of the Korea China Association for Cultural Exchange.

Kim Jae-won(left), director of the Korea Culture and Information Service, and Qu Huan (right), chairman of the Korea China Association for Cultural Exchange, peruse the photographs on display in the lobby of the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill hotel in Seoul before the opening ceremony of the 2014 Korea-China Cultural Festival on October 17.

Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

Before the opening ceremony on October 17, a Chinese performer (top) rides a unicycle as part of the performances going on in the lobby. Another performer shows his knack at pouring tea from a teapot with a long spout.

"The relationship between our two countries has reached a mature stage. Now, the most important thing is to promote cultural exchanges so that the relationship develops further to become a future-oriented one and so that mutual understanding between the peoples of the two nations is increased", said KOCIS DirectorKim Jae-won. "I hope that the festival will be successful and become a major cultural exchange event for both nations, and a bridge between the two countries".

"Korea and China are geographically close and the peoples of the two nations have a friendly relationship. They also have something in common culturally", said Shi Ruilin, director of the Chinese Cultural Center in Korea. "For the last 2,000 years, both nations have learned from each other, emulated each other and have become united, making contributions to East Asia's cultural development. This event will help increase bilateral human exchanges and further deepen mutual understanding and our friendly relationship".

Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

KOCIS DirectorKim Jae-won(top) and Shi Ruilin, director of the Chinese Cultural Center in Korea, make their opening remarks at the ceremony.

There were various performances put on by troupes from both nations. On the Korean part, there was a traditional musical show by an orchestra from Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do (South Chungcheong Province), a pangut traditional folk music and dance performance by the Korean National University of Arts team, a brief showing of "Nanta", a non-verbal percussion musical show, and a taekwondo demonstration.

Performers from China also took to the stage, with dance, folksong and musical performances by ethnic Miao, Dong and Yugur troupes from Guizhou and Gansu provinces. In particular, a Miao performer showed exquisite skill walking on knifes and chilling the spectators' blood.

Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

A performance by an ethnic Yugur dance troupe is about praising the joys of harvest in the grasslands and wishing for a bright future.

Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

The performance by a Yugur performer symbolizes a figure from Sichuanese opera. A series of mask changes mesmerized the audience.

Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

Performers of pangut, a traditional Korean style of folk music and dance, wear a cap and play the double-headed drum, creating a rousing atmosphere. Compared to samulnori, a traditional percussion quartet which usually sits and performs, pangut performances are much more active.

Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

A dance and song performance from Guizhou Province depicts the pleasant life in the beautiful mountains of Guizhou.

Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

A performer walks on the edge of sharpened cleavers. The performance received a round of applause from the audience. (photo courtesy of the Korea China Association for Cultural Exchange)

Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

Performers and guests pose for a photo on stage. (photo courtesy of the Korea China Association for Cultural Exchange)

Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

Visitors stop to enjoy a traditional Chinese performance being held at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill hotel complex on October 17 and 18. (photo courtesy of the Korea China Association for Cultural Exchange)

There were various food stalls and folk art for sale, too, in addition to the performances. There were silver crafts from Guizhou, traditional Chinese clothes, a Beijing tea ceremony, paper crafts from the Yuntai Mountains in Henan Province, hand-made noodles and stone crafts from Qinghai Province. The event was at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill hotel complex on October 17 and 18 and moved to Seoul Plaza on October 19.

By Limb Jae-un, Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writers
Photos: Limb Jae-un, Korea China Association for Cultural Exchange.
[email protected]

Qu Huan, chairman of the Korea China Association for Cultural Exchange, was interviewed recently about the background of the Korea-China Cultural Festival.

Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

Chairman Qu Huan of the Korea China Association for Cultural Exchange says that she finds the real beauty of Korea in the elderly women who clean and sell vegetables on the street.

- We heard that your grandfather used to live in Incheon's Chinatown around 80 years ago. What is it that made you decide to follow your grandfather's footsteps and settle down in Korea?

My father was born in Incheon in 1936. Many of my relatives, including my grandparents and great-aunt, used to live in Korea. When I first looked at a copy of my family register, I found that my father's hometown was in Shandong Province in eastern China and his birthplace was Incheon. Then, I thought to myself, "Where on earth is Incheon?" I didn't know where it was, as at that time, Seoul and Beijing didn't have diplomatic ties and few people knew about South Korea. That's how my first connection with Korea got started.

After graduation in 1994, I started my own business that involved manufacturing packages for cosmetics. Then I would buy raw materials from Korean companies, such as SK Global Chemical or Samsung. I began building networks with them and I slowly got curious about the country and got to know more about it. Now, I've been living in Korea for almost 20 years.

Although many Chinese are known to have difficulty getting used to Korean foods, it has never happened with me. Korean dishes really suit me. I really enjoyed doenjang jjigae the first time I had it, a sort of bean curd paste stew with tofu and zucchini.

I love Korean food. It's true that most Korean people are friendly, but I have had the good fortune to have really great people around me.

Having stayed here for so long, I've met so many good friends who are always willing to help me.

Thinking of all that has happened, from my grandparents and my father who lived here, through to the food and society to which I've been so easily accustomed, and great friends that I've met here, I believe that I have a really strong, deep connection with this country.

I live near Inwangsan Mountain in central Seoul and I always think of my deceased grandfather and grandmother. It feels as if they are always around me, watching over me somewhere from the mountain.

Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

DirectorKim Jae-won(left) of the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) speaks with Qu Huan, chairman of the Korea China Association for Cultural Exchange. Qu introduces to the KOCIS director a traditional alcohol that Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun is known to have enjoyed.

- Tell us what it is that most attracted you to Korea.

The most beautiful aspects of Korea can be found in the elderly women who clean and sell vegetables on the street. It's always moving to see those elderly people, crouching on the street, trimming vegetables, such as garlic and leeks. I believe that they are the ones who have lifted the country from poverty and brought it to great prosperity over the years. They are so friendly, humble and self-reliant. I really respect them.

I have one plan in mind: to hold a special festival in honor of such elderly women. It's sort of a "Korea-China Filial Piety Festival" that would invite elderly people from both Korea and China and let them tell their own life story. It's an event that would allow us to hear their touching stories, between their wrinkles.

Whenever I host a delegation from a governor or a mayor from China, I make sure to recommend to them that they go and see those elderly women on the street. I say, "It's a sight that shows how Korea has come this far. It's evidence of how Korea is full of warm hearts and love".

- This year marks the 22nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Seoul and Beijing. What efforts do you think should be made to improve the close relationship?

Constant cultural exchanges, I would say. It does not mean having to hold just superficial cultural performances or festivals. It means that we both need to continue sustainable interchanges through real cultural activities.
Cultural festival becomes Korea-China bridge

Source from :Hancinema