 |
| People gather at the London Korean Festival 2017 to chill out and to learn about all things Korean. |
By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Diya Mitra
Photos∙Videos = Diya Mitra
July 8, 2017, in the London Olympia saw the return of the London Korean festival. The last time such an event was held was back on Aug. 9, 2015, in Trafalgar Square. It attracted some 40,000 people with the pop band F(x) headlining. This year, it was being held indoors at the Olympia National and was being split into two distinct parts, Day and the Evening.
The Day
The Day was a free event, but you were asked to register via Event Brite. From 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., along with the family, you could experience a traditional dynamic drum performance by Tago, be energised by the taekwondo demonstrations by the Kukkiwon Taekwondo Team and dance along and be inspired by the B-boy performed by the Drifterz Crew. This was all due to take place on the main stage. Activity-wise, you could take part in and watch cooking demonstrations, explore Korea using VR, experience the sensation of a ski jumper at the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics, try on some Hanbok, discover more about your favorite online comic book characters, listen to up and coming Korean pop music, and even play traditional Korean games, like tuho, similar to lawn darts.
The Evening
The Evening was a ticketed event priced at GBP 30 that began at 7 p.m. Four bands were due to play. The highlight was the pop band formerly known as Beast, one of the most award-winning Korean groups of all time. The only girl group in the mix was Exid, the multiple award-winning group whose catchy "Up & Down" I can continuously play without getting bored. Snuper, a six-member boy band whose name means "higher than super," also played, as well as, finally, KNK, a five-member boy band whose name stands for "K-pop knock."
So on Saturday, July 8, I awoke early to prepare myself for the day ahead. Although doors opened from 11 a.m., I got to the Olympia at around 1 p.m. and was amazed by the queues that were already forming, one for The Day and another for The Evening.
 |
| Queues already form for the evening performance. |
I entered the main hall, located on the ground level, where the events of the day were taking place on the central stage. People were relaxing and soaking in the atmosphere on the carpeted fake grass. At the sides were a couple of bars where you could purchase a drink. I met some friends sitting comfortably on deck chairs and briefly exchanged hellos before ascending to the second floor to explore further. Level One just had the main stage and the drinks bar.
 |
| The Olympia National Hall, level 2, hosts the London Korean Festival 2017. |
Being lunch time, the queues surrounding the food stalls were very difficult to navigate. I was determined to get to the other side to explore the animation area first. The map in the program broke itself down into five areas: Tourism, Headquarters, Experience, Contents and Food. However, I created a more detailed one. (See above.)
Online Comic Books, K-pop, Characters and Animation
The exhibition on online comic books was showcasing four platforms to help you discover the exiting world of Korean online comic books: Line, Spotoon, Lehzin and Tapas. You can find comics about any theme, ranging from comedy to social-political issues, and from action through to romance.
I had no idea that the comic book artist Lee Donggun, creator of "Yumi’s Cells," had flown over specifically for the event. I only found out by talking to one of the stall helpers, Kim Sooyon, and felt a little like the screaming fans queuing up for the evening K-pop concert when she told me. She was surprised that I already knew about Line online comic strips and about "Yumi’s Cells." I tried not to keel over in shock and attempted to keep my cool when I finally met Lee Donggun and explained why I loved "Yumi’s Cells." For those of you from the "Beano" era, think "Numskulls" meets a touch of Korean drama. If you're not familiar with "Beano," think "Inside Out" meets Korean drama. It's about a Korean girl navigating her way through life and love, and the cells inside that drive her. It's brilliant! I told artist Lee that the hunger cell is my favorite and that that's why I related to Yumi, primarily because of the hunger cell and her love of food.
 |
| Artist Lee Donggun works hard to create Yumi's creative cell. |
Kim Sooyon said I could have my "prime cell" drawn by Lee Donggun, so I sat down feeling giddy, trying to think of what my "prime cell" would be. In "Yumi’s Cells," her "prime cell" has been described as "love." The "prime cell" is the one cell that has superior abilities over the rest and dominates. For me, it was going to be either hunger or the creative cell. I went with the latter.
What was amazing was seeing artist Lee Donggun at work and how quickly he drew on his tablet, completely immersed and not distracted by his surroundings. I couldn't help but beam from ear to ear, and felt it was all a dream as I sat there watching him at work. The conversation I had with Lee Donggun was expertly translated by Kim Sooyon. I asked if we could keep in touch, so that I could bombard him with questions later on. We exchanged contact information and he kindly gave me my very own 3-D character of my hunger cell. We snapped a few pictures of the finished results and I continued walking around the venue in a glorious daze.
 |
| Korea.net Honorary Reporter Diya Mitra (left) poses for a picture with artist Lee Donggun with the new comic 'Diya’s Cells.' |
Next to the online comic strip center was a K-pop stall that had listening booths in which one could listen to the latest music, stationary to be bought and signed, and even T-shirts of the bands playing, just waiting to be worn.
 |
| Signed T-shirts from the band Exid are on display at the K-pop stall. |
Visitors had the chance to take pictures against a green screen with their favorite comic character, and have pictures posted up along the wall in the "characters" section, for example with Pororo the comic penguin. They were also selling pictures of Yoohoo and Friends, a Korean animated TV show similar to "Pororo the Penguin." At the animation stall was the chance to watch some of these episodes in a nice cushiony setting.
 |
| People pose for photos with popular Korean cartoon characters. |
A Hanbok experience, traditional games, handicrafts
 |
| Visitors can capture their memories of traditional Korean Hanbok attire at the London Korean Festival 2017. |
I walked to the far end where I saw only young women with their friends trying on traditional Korean Hanbok dresses, skirts and jackets, and posing for photos in front of a backdrop of palaces. Staff were taking Polaroids as well and hanging them up in front of the exhibit.
I had worn Hanbok a few times before, most recently in Seoul. So I decided to give this a miss and try my hand at tuho. This is a traditional Korean game and is very similar to lawn darts. It involves tossing an arrow into a narrow quiver from a distance. The quiver is made up of five holes. A central hole and four smaller holes around it. I was given six arrows to throw and I got all in but one, in the center, to boot. Prizes were awarded if you scored a certain amount. Two arrows got you a London Korean Festival bag or a book mark. Four arrows were equal to a notebook or a pen. Five or more saw you win the top prize, a very beautiful set of pencils and a case.
Next, I queued up for the traditional handicrafts stall. You had the choice to make a mirror, a coaster or a fan. Seeing that the coaster would be the least popular, I opted for this. It was a busy station, with two long tables side-by-side with people creating beautiful crafts at them. I was soon allocated a seat and given a little bag wherein I found all the contents, but no instructions. There was a pot of glue in front of me with a brush and I called one of the staff to show me what I needed to do. A few seconds later, I was gluing and sticking away. It was not as easy as it looked, but I managed to create a somewhat shabby looking coaster that's now used for my morning coffee.
 |
| The pink not-so-professional looking coaster on the right is the author's. |
(All photos and videos used here were taken by Diya Mitra and cannot be used without permission.)
wisdom117@korea.kr
