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The event celebrating the anniversary of the Korean alphabet attracted more than a thousand visitors.
The Korean alphabet (Hangul), celebrated every year on the 9th of October in Korea, was established by King Sejong the Great in the 1440s.
To mark the occasion, the Debrecen Korean Cultural Association, with the support of the Debrecen Summer University and the King Segyong Institute in Debrecen, organised a Korean cultural programme on Saturday. There was already a massive queue at the entrance of Lovarda. Still, the crowds of people interested in the East Asian country kept coming: young and old alike were curious to attend the programmes.
At the event’s opening, the Director of the Debrecen Summer University, Péter Szaffkó, said that the Korean Cultural Day was now in its fifth year and was attracting increasing interest. He said that the teaching of the Korean language in Debrecen started ten years ago. In 2019, with the establishment of the King Seljong Institute, they could continue with the help of South Koreans. Nowadays, the number of people who want to learn this Asian language is two to three hundred a year.
István Puskás, Deputy Mayor of Debrecen in charge of cultural affairs, said that the importance of the event was reflected in the long queue at the entrance to this year’s Korean Day. “Many hundreds of thousands of people are interested in this exciting and valuable culture here in Debrecen.
“Film, gastronomy, literature, fine arts, and music are well-known parts of Korean culture in Debrecen. The idea of Debrecen being an open and inclusive city, a living tapestry of different cultures, is only valid if it meets the interests and needs of its citizens. The current event proves that this is the case to the maximum in the case of Korean culture,” the deputy mayor stressed.
In the afternoon, the focus was first on K-Pop, or Korean pop music, with the Black XS Dance Team performing cover choreographies. Then the organisers also catered for those interested in traditional dance and music. The students of the King Seljong Institute in Debrecen demonstrated the use of the most popular drum in Korean folk music, the changgu, and a similar instrument to the citerpa, the kajagum, followed by performances by the Debrecen-based dance groups Manwol and Nawoul.
The surprise guest of the Korean day was the South Korean singer Ju Iran, who also appeared on Sing Again and sang Become Something, a theme song from the drama Doctor Detective. “I’ve been living here in Debrecen for two and a half months, but if I had known that Hungary was such a beautiful place, with such nice people and such a good place to live, I would have come here much sooner,” he said.
In addition to music and dance, there were other aspects of Korean culture: a massive interest in calligraphy, but many people wanted to wear hanbok, or traditional Korean dress, for a short time.
Of course, Korean gastronomy was also on the agenda: Visitors learned how to prepare kimchi, one of the most famous dishes in Korean cuisine, and of course, they could taste it. They also had the chance to try kimbap, ramen, kimchi fried rice (Kimchi Bokkeumbap), and the Korean corn dog (noodle sausage), known from movies and TV series—the latter was quite popular.
Andrea Abai Szabóné, head of the Debrecen Korean Cultural Association, said there is an increasing interest in Korean culture, mainly because of K-pop and K-drama, as well as in Debrecen. The audience is getting wider; many families with small children visit their programs. This year, they wanted to put a lot of emphasis on having guest speakers from South Korea.
Over a thousand people visited the current event, and the organizers welcome feedback on their social media platforms. Given the significant interest, a similar program is planned for next year in Debrecen, where lovers of Korean culture will be welcomed.
Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu
