메인메뉴 바로가기본문으로 바로가기
네이버 공유 카카오 공유 트위터 공유 페이스북 공유

University of Georgia Highlights Korean Culture

With support from the Korea Foundation, the University of Georgia organized events to introduce Korean culture to its students and local residents. The activities, along with being well attended, served as a meaningful occasion to make the culture of Korea better known on university campus and within the local community.



The third week of March, right after spring break, was designated as Korean Week at the University of Georgia, which included the presentation of various events in succession. Popular activities included a Korean film festival and a Korea Night event to introduce Korean food and culture. In addition, all of the Korea-related student organizations at the University of Georgia joined together so that more people could have a chance to learn about and experience Korea. These organizations included the Korean Student Association (KSA), mainly comprised of graduate students from Korea, Korean Undergraduate Student Association (KUSA), a group of mostly second-generation Korean-American undergraduate students, Undergraduate Korean Intermediary (UKI), a volunteer organization composed of undergraduates from Korea and Korean-Americans of the 1.5 generation, and Korean Traditional Play Association (KTPA), a group that promotes Korea’s folk music traditions.

Korean Film Festival
Two months ahead of the actual Korea Week events, the student groups had assigned the individuals who would be responsible for organizing the film festival, performances, and exhibitions, along with meeting on a weekly basis to assure steady progress of the related preparations. With Korean Week being held right after spring break, the students posted publicity materials on bulletin boards on campus and at local newspapers and restaurants, about three weeks before the scheduled events. In addition, they opened an event site on Facebook to make the activities known to a wider range of students.
The Korean films were screened at Tate Theater on campus on Monday and Wednesday evening during Korean Week. Featured films included “The Portrait of a Beauty,” which highlights Korea’s traditional culture and the past lifestyles of Korea, and “Forever the Moment” that provides a glimpse of the modern-day Korea. In order to attract a larger audience, the organizers decided to hold the Korean Week events after spring break so that they would not conflict with the examination period. However, students seemed to straggle back to campus after the break, and the number of students who attended the film festival ended up being fewer than had been anticipated. Still, some 100 viewers, including about 50 foreign students, enjoyed the Korean films. The screening of the Korean films especially attracted the attention of Korea-related students. After the screenings, there was a noticeable interest among the audience in future events of this kind.



Korea Night
Korea Night was held at the recently completed Tate Grand Hall on Friday evening. Lavish Korean cuisine, fit for a royal banquet, was prepared by the proprietors of Atlanta’s Koreatown area. Korea-related exhibits, featuring traditional Korean garments, along with Korea’s alphabet, architecture, and popular culture, under a Korean Wave theme, were on display for the viewing of guests while Korean food was prepared for serving.
Of particular note, a “Korea Night at the Museum” program provided an introduction of the ancient Three-Kingdom Period of Korea, which included a brief overview of the culture and history of each kingdom, under the subtitles of “Art” (Baekje), “Strength” (Goguryeo) and “Modern” (Silla). Moreover, a variety of performances were staged, such as fan dance and traditional vocal music gagok (Art), Korean folk music pungmul and Taekwondo (Strength), and group cheering from the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals and K-pop music/dance (Modern). Thanks to the entertaining performances, the Korean and non-Korean attendees thoroughly enjoyed the night of festivities.
The dance performances were especially highly impressive. More than 300 people, of which about one-third were foreigners, attended the event as a result of the collaborative publicity activities of the Korean student associations. The foreign members of the audience, including those involved with International Student Life, clearly enjoyed the performances. Korean school teachers and parents of young Korean-American students were delighted as well, mentioning that their children had such a great time.
Following the conclusion of the Korea Night program, local residents lingered at the venue to express their desire to attend the upcoming Korea-related activities. They also sought to access English-language versions of the websites maintained by the Korean student associations. During an evaluation session at the end of the recent semester, Korea Night was selected as the most outstanding “Ethnic Night” event held on the campus of the University of Georgia, and praised as a highly effective undertaking.
Indeed, Korean Week proved to be a rewarding experience in which all the Korean student organizations had a chance to make a contribution, through their cooperative efforts. The event also enabled local Korean residents to take pride in their Korean heritage and a broadened recognition of Korean culture among local residents. In addition, it served as a meaningful opportunity to help make Korean history and culture better known to Korean-Americans and students with only a limited familiarity with Korea.
It was also a noteworthy initiative to introduce Korean history through performances related to specific themes. I would like to express appreciation to everyone who contributed to this project, including the Korea Foundation, whose assistance made it a wonderful success. It is my hope that more Korean cultural festivals of this kind can be held on the campuses of American universities to introduce Korean culture and promote more cooperative Korea-U.S. relations.

SEARCH

통합검색

통합검색버튼
통합검색닫기

전체메뉴

전체메뉴 닫기