Over 60 countries came together in downtown two weekends ago for a two-day journey around the world at the Seoul Friendship Fair. Celebrating its 18th year, the multicultural festival spotlighted the delicacies, cultures, and tourism of participant nations from May 4 to 5.
The festival stretched from Seoul Plaza north to Cheonggyecheon, ranging from staged performances to tents offering a variety of multicultural delights to the crowds of visitors and participants representing nations from all around the world.
The Seoul Friendship Fair began in 1996 in celebration of Seoul Citizens’ Day. It was connected with the Hi Seoul Festival from 2003 until 2010, when it separated and extended to two days. In 2011 it attracted 300,000 people, and in 2012 the number reached 400,000 -- 150,000 of which were foreigners.
The opening ceremony took place at 5 p.m. in Seoul Plaza in front of Seoul Metropolitan Library with a street parade and speeches from Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and diplomatic envoys.
The festival stretched from Seoul Plaza north to Cheonggyecheon, ranging from staged performances to tents offering a variety of multicultural delights to the crowds of visitors and participants representing nations from all around the world.
The Seoul Friendship Fair began in 1996 in celebration of Seoul Citizens’ Day. It was connected with the Hi Seoul Festival from 2003 until 2010, when it separated and extended to two days. In 2011 it attracted 300,000 people, and in 2012 the number reached 400,000 -- 150,000 of which were foreigners.
The opening ceremony took place at 5 p.m. in Seoul Plaza in front of Seoul Metropolitan Library with a street parade and speeches from Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and diplomatic envoys.
The opening ceremony of the Seoul Friendship Fair featured a performance with the Rainbow Choir and the Hand-in-Hand Chorus (photo: Yonhap News).
Seoul Plaza was lined by tents displaying the artistic, cultural, and tourism highlights of the more than 60 countries participating in the World Traditional Folk Art Exhibition and the World Tourism Exhibition. The event especially highlighted the cultures of ASEAN countries. There was also a special playground set up on the grass for children to celebrate Children’s Day, which fell on the second day of the festival.
A stage in the square offered a program of cultural performances from 14 of Seoul’s sister cities from around the world, including Maputo (Mozambique) Minsk (Belarus), Jakarta (Indonesia), and Hokkaido (Japan). As well, a guerrilla K-pop flash dance mob kept the event spontaneous with unannounced performances.
In front of the entrance to City Hall, visitors could see an exhibition of pictures painted by international students attending foreign schools in Seoul. Themed on “How I See Seoul in 2030,” pictures depicted hopeful scenes of Korean unification, lush urban environments with skies populated with flying cars and hoverboards, robots performing a variety of tasks including defense, waiting tables, and even serving as president, and more fantastical images including Seoul as an orbital space station and a dinosaur rampage through the city.
International students submitted paintings themed on "How I see Seoul in 2030" including Sophie Bradshaw's depiction of Seoul (left) as a mountainous region with lots of green parkland between tall highrises (photos: Jon Dunbar).
The road stretching north to Cheonggyecheon through Mugyo-dong was lined with the tents of the World Food Fair offering a variety of national cuisines from around the world. From the more familiar Turkish doner kebabs and Indian curries to more exotic fare including Afghanistani chicken kebabs and Belarusian sausages, the World Food Fair offered a surprise for everybody.
The English-language radio station TBS eFM had a DJ booth set up in Seoul Plaza for live broadcasting. “I was there to co-host The Steve Hatherly show but then stuck around for three hours enjoying it,” said on-air personality Dain Leathem. “I tried Sri Lankan food, very nice, and Egyptian dessert, which was my fav. It was sort of a coconut slice or cake with honey. I also had some Indian which was fantastic as ever and some South American dishes too -- but forgot which country.”
The tents were run by foreign embassies and communities based in Seoul. Visitors had the chance to register in advance of the festival to participate in cooking classes to learn how to make international foods including the popular Japanese snack tacoyaki and Colombian patacones made from a fried banana.
The Afghanistan tent offered up chicken kebabs (left) and the Indian tent had tandoori chicken on offer (right) (photos: Jon Dunbar).
A stage was also set up in the middle of the road for Music Café, which offered musical performances throughout the weekend from countries including Iran, Peru, Azerbaijan, and Sri Lanka.
The World Food Fair extended to Cheonggyecheon, which also offered a variety of other attractions. Visitors could try out different types of traditional clothing from around the world at the World Culture Experience and watch traditional folk plays. There were also tents dedicated to social enterprises and international organizations including the urban development institution Citynet and the One Korea Festival.
“I really thought that the event did a great job of opening up people's eyes to other cultures -- with the parade, booths and food tents being well run,” said Leathem, a New Zealander. “The event is essential for Seoul and Korea as it opens up and becomes more multicultural and I wish more people knew about it. Overall I really enjoyed it, told as many people as I could, and would go again.”
Seoul Plaza was lined with tents presenting information on the traditional cultures and tourism industries of over 60 countries.
The closing ceremony began at 5 p.m. on Sunday, with an awards ceremony given to the outstanding countries participating in the World Food Fair and the traditional folk art exhibition, a farewell ceremony by the sister city performers, and a declaration of closing.
For more information about this year’s Seoul Friendship Fair, visit the official website.
Source:Korea.net
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