The annual Korean Cultural Festival for Beijing-area University Students has been held at different venues every year – Beijing Language and Culture University in 2006, Beijing Foreign Studies University in 2007, University of International Business and Economics in 2008, and Peking University in 2009. This year, the festival was hosted by the Central University for Nationalities, under the joint auspices of the university’s Korean Language Department and Korean Literature Department.

The festival officially started on the morning of May 21, at the Zhonghuilou Concert Hall of the Central University for Nationalities. The opening ceremony was attended by Korean Language Department professors and students from nine universities in the Beijing area as well as students of other universities who are interested in Korean culture. Among notable figures attending the ceremony were Lim Sung-nam, minister at the Korean Embassy in Beijing; Guo Weiping, vice president of the Central University for Nationalities; Moon Sung-ki, director of the Korea Foundation Beijing Office; Chung Kwang, professor emeritus at Korea University and president of the International Society for Korean Studies; Kim Byung-un, president of the Chinese Association for Korean Language Education.

Colorful Events

The opening ceremony began with welcoming remarks from Vice President Guo Weiping of the Central University for Nationalities. This was followed by congratulatory messages by Minister Lim Sung-nam of the Korean Embassy; Adalet secretary of the party committee of the the Central University for Nationalities’ Faculty of Foreign Studies; and Professor Huh Bong-ja, head of the Korean Language Department of the Central University for Nationalities.

An array of cultural activities followed the ceremony. A student group from the Korean Literature Department of the host university, named “Bonfire,” put on a hanbok (traditional Korean dress) fashion show, while a volunteer group of Korean students in China, named “Sense,” gave a dynamic performance of “Nanta,” a non-verbal show featuring percussionists, setting the festive atmosphere.

Among the following programs were academic lectures, hands-on activities, performances, folk games, and exhibitions. To begin with, Chung Kwang, professor emeritus of Korea University and president of the International Society for Korean Studies, gave a lecture on “Education of Manchu and Korean Languages during the Joseon Period.” After the lecture, a quiz competition was held to increase understanding of traditional Korean folk culture among the Chinese students, which attracted a large number of enthusiastic participants.
Folk entertainment programs were held during the noon hour, which included cooking demonstrations bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables and beef), and injeolmi (glutinous rice cake coated with soybean flour) as well as making kimchi (pickled vegetables), at the basketball gymnasium. A team of professors and students mixed bibimbap in a huge tub by using large paddles, while a big crowd watched curiously. Some 600 people shared the colorful and flavorful rice.

In the meantime, another group of professors and students joyfully pounded sticky rice dough with mallets to make injeolmi, while yet another group made cabbage kimchi. The festival participants enjoyed savory foods, such as bibimbap, sweet and spicy tteokbokki (stir-fried rice cake with vegetables), and chewy injeolmi, all very popular dishes representing traditional Korean cuisine.

Drama, Music and Games

The basketball gymnasium was the venue for various performances and games. The festive mood reached a peak thanks to an exciting performance of pungmul (traditional Korean farmers’ band music) by Bonfire and a lively presentation of the Bongsan Mask Dance by a group of students from the Korean Language Department of the host university. The festival participants also tried their hand at traditional games, such as yutnori (a board game played with sticks), jegichagi (shuttlecock kicking), and ttakjichigi (slap match), while some made masks called tal.

At the Wenhualou Literary Hall, a Korean script penmanship contest was held with the participation of many students representing different universities. Diverse exhibitions of Korean culture at Zhonghuilou Concert Hall also attracted long streams of viewers. The exhibits included traditional masks and photographs capturing images of folk culture. As a festival highlight, Korean language students of the host university staged the classic Korean drama “Chunhyangjeon” (Story of Chunhyang). A new adaptation written for the festival by adding Chinese and modern elements, the drama performance left a deep impression on the audience.

The festival closed with an awards ceremony. The top prize of the quiz competition went to a student team of Beijing Union University, and a student of the Central University for Nationalities won first prize for the penmanship contest. The festival, held with sponsorship support of the Korea Foundation, has established itself as a great opportunity for Korea-related students in China to immerse themselves in Korean culture and as an academic venue for educators to interact with one another to share their knowledge and experience.

Choi Yu-hak, Professor
Central University for Nationalities