Korean traditions rediscovered in Sofia

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Emilia Kircheva

Photos = Emilia Kircheva

In the beginning of June, a Bulgarian audience had the chance to enjoy a performance by the Korean percussion group Noreum Machi. The event gathered people of all ages and they were all eager to dive into the musical journey on which we were about to embark. Noreum Machi is known for its rediscovery of traditional Korean music and for mixing it with modern elements. It's widely recognized in Korea and around the world.

This was not my first time attending a performance of traditional Korean music. I thought I knew what to expect. In reality, however, their act was very different than anything I had seen before. The music that Noreum Machi plays is enchanting in every way, right from its history. It's known as samulnori and it's an adaptation of an ancient farmers’ ritual that has its origins in shamanism and animism. Each of the four main instruments represents a different element of nature: the janggu represents rain, the buk clouds, the jing wind, and the kkwaenggwari a thunder storm. The beat of the drums was loud and captivating. I tried to trace the movement of their hands, but it was impossible. That's how fast they were playing. The music itself sounded like a harmonic union of natural forces. The strong sound felt like it was purifying the whole space. 

The best part, however, was the interaction of the musicians with the audience. They started their performance not on stage but at the back of the hall, among the audience. This set a very nice and friendly atmosphere for the whole evening. Each of the members introduced himself and told a bit about the instrument he was playing. Before each song they also explained its meaning. There was a prayer for health, glory and a long life, a traditional march from Joseon times, a mixture of traditional and modern sound, and much more. 

The audience was engaged not only with listening, but also with participating. We were invited to sing along with Noreum Machi or to repeat certain words to complete the lyrics. The effort to make a connection with the audience didn't stop there. The group leader, Kim Ju Hong, learned how to say, “Thank you,” in Bulgarian and kept saying it each time the exhilarated audience clapped, which made us clap even more. My favorite moment of the whole evening was when Kim spread wishes for health, love and luck by swinging a big fan toward the audience while saying a blessing, so it felt like he was spreading it over the crowd.

Noreum Machi is doing an amazing job of making traditions cool again, with very high energy, an excellent stage presence and a fresh modern take on traditional Korean music. It was a pleasure to see them in Sofia.

wisdom117@korea.kr

Travelling Korea in a hijab

Honorary Reporters Slawa Elzeny (left) and Esraa Elzeny travel across Korea wearing their hijab. (Korea.net DB)

By Korea. net Honorary reporters Esraa Elzeny and Salwa Elzeny 

“My hijab is not only my religious identity. It’s part of my existence, my life.”

— from the movie "My Name Is Khan" (2010)

The veil or headscarf is referred to by many names, the most common being the word "hijab," which simply means "head covering" in Arabic.

"Hijab" is an Arabic word that describes a Muslim woman's entire dress code, including a veil and whatever else is needed to cover everything except her face and hands. It's adopted at puberty, an age when, according to Islam, people become accountable for their actions.

According to God, “O, prophet! Say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw over themselves their outer garments. That is more suitable, that they should be known and not harmed. Is God not oft-forgiving and the most merciful?" (Quran 33:59)

Many people think that the headscarf is limited to only Muslim women, but this is not true. Some Christian and Jewish women also wear headscarves as a kind of commitment to their face and simply out of common decency.

Although there are some criticisms about wearing a headscarf or hijab, sometimes linking the simple clothing article to female persecution or to religious militancy, this has not prevented activist Nazma Khan, who lives in New York, from wearing her hijab. It's a symbol of faith, beauty and humility. Hence, the idea of a worldwide Hijab Day was celebrated for the first time in 2013.

The word 'hijab' covers a Muslim woman's entire dress code, and the attire covers not only the head, but also the whole body, except for the face and hands. (Esraa Elzeny)

Khan tried to change this stereotype of the headscarf by launching World Hijab Day to attract sympathy and to encourage both non-Muslim and Muslim women who don't wear the hijab regularly to wear hijab on at least one day and to try it. She added that the aim is to promote religious tolerance around the world by raising awareness about the hijab. She notes that the veil not only covers the head, but also covers the whole body, including the head, chest, arms and legs, as well as any other articles of loose clothing.

World Hijab Day is held on Feb. 1 every year in nearly 116 countries.

The hijab is a distinguishing feature of Muslim women. Although Islam is not well-known across Korean society, many people see veiled women and know they are Muslim. Korean society is open-minded and everyone has the freedom to act and believe as they want. So Muslim tourists don't suffer any persecution here. On the contrary, when I visited Korea, many people helped me and many of them asked me about my country. One day during our trip across Korea with Korea.net, it was zuhr prayer time and my Korean friends helped me until I found the qibla direction, and the whole team at Korea .net made sure that our food was always halal.

The Korean government is currently seeking to increase the facilities on offer for Muslim tourists by increasing the number of halal restaurants and helping tourists find places to pray. Muslim women, like women everywhere, like adornment and beauty, and Korea is famous for its people's beauty and for their elegance. So certainly there would be demand for beauty salons suitable for veiled women, because they can't remove their headscarf in front of men. There's only one salon in Seoul to which veiled women can go. It has special rooms and only employs women. It's located near Samsung Station, and it's called Satin hair salon.

As for fashion, there's no problem. Korean stores are filled with clothes that Muslim women can wear, and they're very elegant and beautiful. Throughout my time in Korea, I found a lot of clothes that fit Muslim women, although I had the impression from Korean TV shows that all the clothes are extremely short and revealing, and that all the sizes were tiny because Korean women were thinner than Arab women. However, I found the exact opposite. All tastes and models are available in all sizes, and there are some stores that even help choose the best and most suitable outfit for Muslim customers.

The hijab and traditional Korean Hanbok attire are from two vastly different sets of traditions, but they can be a good match, too. (Salwa Elzeny)

As for traditional Korean Hanbok attire, it's very suitable for Muslim women. During one of the events at the Korean Cultural Center in Egypt, the teacher showed the Egyptian students how to sew some Hanbok. She saw that Hanbok is very suitable for the hijab, because the ritual of wearing Hanbok is to tie back one's hair. From the Islamic point of view, Hanbok is a loose set of clothes that covers all of a woman's body. It's very similar to the Arab abaya. So it goes well with the hijab. During my visit to Korea and on our first day in Korea, we wore Hanbok clothes and along the Cheonggyecheon Stream. We found that many people stopped us and told us that we were quite beautiful, in Korean. That's proof that they were impressed by the combination of Hanbok and our hijabs.

Even though some Koreans may not be fully familiar with the hijab or with Muslim society more generally, they showed great respect for our differences. Also, people showed us during our trip that two totally different societies can fit together well. We hope that the hijab can become better and more widely known across Korea and that people around the world will be able to break their prejudices and have a better understanding about this.   

wisdom117@korea.kr

Chuseok in Egypt

By Korea.net Honorary Reporters Nagwan Amer and Hanan Salim Mohammed Ali

Photos∙Video = Nagwan Amer and Hanan Salim Mohammed Ali

The harvest festival of Chuseok is one of the biggest holidays in Korea, celebrated on the full moon on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. Like any other festival, people have their own traditions that they perform. For example, they travel to the towns where they were born to spend time with their families, visit their ancestors' gravesites and perform ritual worship ceremonies.

We here in Egypt also celebrated this special event in a Korean manner. It was really an awesome experience and a great chance to share these sweet moments with our lovely Korean friends.

First, we started with a traditional Hanbok show, where everyone picked a suitable set of clothes and got dressed in it. It was a very comfortable and stylish outfit.

Traditional Hanbok attire is still worn today on festivals and other special occasions.

We enjoyed some delicious sweets that are eaten on this special occasion. Surprisingly, they tasted like snacks we have here in Egypt called semsemya and balh el sham.

Traditional Korean snacks are similar to some Egyptian snacks. 

Then we learned how to perform a traditional Korean greeting, which reflects the respect and good manners of all the Korean people. Here’s a video showing how to perform the ritual.

Mark your calendar for Korea’s biggest fireworks festival

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Majid Mushtaq

Photos = Seoul International Fireworks Festival

Who says you need to wait until New Year's to see colorful explosions in the air? Well, cheers! Korea’s biggest fireworks festival is coming, so you better mark your calendar and put up reminders to be there on time and reserve a good spot to watch the fireworks.

The Hanwha Seoul International Fireworks Festival is not only Korea’s biggest, but also one of the world’s most famous fireworks festivals. It's a representative festival of Korea to welcome the fall that has been continuing for 15 years. The festival is viewed by over 1 million people and in 2016, it even broke through the 1.2 million barrier, which is the largest in history.

The thing that makes this festival unique is that every year, teams from different countries participate and showcase their expertise in firework displays. Last year, there were teams from Spain, Japan and Korea, while this year the representative teams of Korea, the U.S. and Italy will participate and will embroider the autumn sky with five-colored flares with a total of 100,000 shots.

Here is a brief description of the participating teams.

Korea -- Hanwha Corporation. Having won second place in the International Fireworks Festival in Poland in 2015, this team is representative of Korea and has received immense recognition for its ability. It also performed at the Closing Ceremony at the Incheon 2014 Asian Games.

U.S. -- Pyro Spectaculars. This is the team that directed the fireworks at the Los Angeles and Atlanta Olympics, and it was among the participating teams for the first Seoul Fireworks Festival.

Italy -- Parente Fireworks. Having won second place in the Russian Rostec Fireworks Festival, this team is quite famous in the Middle East and Europe and has performed in multiple events around the world.

Each year’s festival is linked to a catch phrase. For 2017, it's official English-language catch phrase is, "Vivid Seoul. Vivid display and lighting production of one color. Fantasy experience space and performance program composition."

Apart from the fireworks show, there will be lots of events to see and abundant of things to do with your friends and family. There will be food trucks, a flea market, a "Vivid Road," a street art festival and a public DJ performance. Please find some information about the festival below.

Date 2017-09-30 Saturday 17:30 to 20:40

Plac: Hangang Park, Yeouido area

Direction: 

- By Subway: Yeouinaru Station Exit #3 and #5, Ichon Station Exit #4, Saetgang Station Exit #3, Singil Station Exit #1, Mapo Station Exit #4.

- By Mini Bus: Yeongdeungpo 10, Yeongdeungpo 11

- By City Bus: 261, 262, 360, 461, 662, 753

- By Airport Bus: 6030

This fireworks festival is held once every year, so it's a perfect opportunity to go out with your friends and family and make some unforgettable memories. No matter in which part of Korea you live, trust us: you don't want to miss this festival. In the comment section below, we look forward to seeing your amazing pictures that you’ll capture at the festival. 

Watch this YouTube clip to get a glimpse of last year’s fireworks festival.

wisdom117@korea.kr

Busan's One Asia Festival lifts Korean pop

Fans help each other before the start of Busan One Asia Festival’s opening concert in 2016.

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Bojana Doneva

Photos =  Diana Trifonova and Bojana Doneva 

Video = Friday Chopsticks

Are you looking for your next travel destination? Here are some reasons to add Korea and the city of Busan to your travel list.

Other than the warm weather and the beautiful autumn natural scenery to be seen in "The Land of the Morning Calm," Korea has much more to offer in October. An especially good reason to visit Busan is the various festivals that will take place around the city, such as the world-renowned Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and the Busan Fireworks Festival, among others. Another festival worth a trip to Korea’s southern coast is the Busan One Asia Festival, organized by the Busan Tourism Organization. This festival celebrates the growth in popularity of Korean pop music and Korean TV shows in East Asia and elsewhere. Although it only started last year, the festival has already turned into a beloved event, for both domestic and foreign tourists alike.

The Busan One Asia Festival takes place for the first time in 2016.

  

The charm of the Busan One Asia Festival consists of its rich program that offers a series of events that people of different ages can enjoy. Last year’s 2016 festival included Taste Busan, a food exhibition, the Korean Wave Star & Beauty Collection, a Korean Wave Stars Fan Meeting area, filmings of the popular variety TV show "Running Man" and much more. 

Outfits used on stage by some of the most famous Korean pop stars and a photo exhibition are featured at the Korean Wave Star & Beauty Collection section of the festival. 

The highlight of the festival are the One Asia Opening Concert and the One Asia Dream Concert, which is the closing ceremony. Both concerts feature some of the current biggest names from the world of Korean pop, such as BTS, Girls’ Generation, A Pink and Infinite, as well as industry veterans like PSY, Lyn and Sechs Kies. Dedicated fans show off their endless adoration for Sechs Kies and BTS, screaming at the top of their lungs, to show support for their beloved artists. Meanwhile, Korea’s favorite singer, PSY, made the whole stadium sing along last year to his hits "Daddy" and "Gangnam Style," turning the event into a real celebration.

 Pop group Infinite performs the song 'The Eye' as part of the One Asia Opening Concert last year. 

Fans of veteran group Sechs Kies welcome them back to the stage. 

During our stay in Korea last year, fellow Korea.net Honorary Reporter Diana Trifonova and I interviewed the festival's secretary general, Yoon Jeong Gook. Here is what he shared with us about the festival.

The festival's secretary general and staff post for a photo with Korea.net Honorary Reporters.  

Korea.net: Could you briefly describe the Busan One Asia Festival please?

Yoon: The Busan One Asia Festival is dedicated to the specific cultural charms of Busan, to the growth in popularity of Korean pop music and TV in East Asia and elsewhere, as well as, in a way, to general pop trends aross East Asia. We started the festival with the idea that it would one day turn into a unique forum, representing East Asia in a new way.

For the entire interview, please click the video below. 

This year, the Busan One Asia Festival returns bigger and better than ever. The festival will take place from Oct. 22 to 31. Some of the events this year are the opening ceremony, the Park Concert, the Legend Stage, the Cover Dance Contest, the Made in Busan feature, that shows performances by local Busan artists, the Awards Ceremony and much more. The opening ceremony lineup includes Got7, Nuest W, Blackpink, iKON, G-Friend and more. Even overnight sensation Wanna One, this summer’s hottest boy band, will attend the event this year. 

For more information about the different events and guest stars, please refer to the Busan One Asia Festival’s official website.

http://bof.or.kr/eng/main/ 

October is a must-travel time for any dedicated fan of Korean pop music. Don't miss the opportunity to enjoy one of Korea’s best festivals in the beautiful southern city of Busan! 

wisdom117@korea.kr

Could this be Ghanaian waakye?

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Anita Emefa Hato 

During a tour of Chungcheongnam-do Province on July 15, 2017, for international bloggers, we stopped at a Korean restaurant, Hyang Woo Jung, after visiting the Gongju Hanok Village.

The restaurant was filled with lots of tourists, both domestic and international. So, with great expectations that the food here must be good, in order to have that many customers, I joined my friends at our table.

We're served rice and beans wrapped and steamed in a lotus leaf. It's delicious and nutritious. 

One thing that caught my eye as I walked to our table was the rice and beans wrapped and steamed in a lotus leaf. At first glance, I thought, "Wow! Could this be waakye?" a common rice-and-beans Ghanaian dish eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. 

I wasn’t surprised to learn that the restaurant was actually famous for its rice-and-beans-in-a-lotus-leaf dish, since everyone at the restaurant was eating it.

Korean lotus-wrapped rice

As I sat and started to unwrap my Korean version of Ghana's waakye, I knew very well the probability of finding true waakye in a Korean restaurant -- or even anywhere in Korea -- to be quite low.

The ingredients and contents of this lotus leaf wrap are rice and beans, but the proportions are quite different from my homemade waakye.

 

Ghana's waakye looks similar to the rice and beans wrapped in a lotus leaf that's found in Korea, but the taste is a little different.

Ghana’s waakye

Waakye is a traditional Ghanaian food that originated in the northern part of the country. It consists of blackeyed beans with rice that's cooked together with herbs that gives it its brownish color.

How waakye is served

It's usually served with a tomato stew and a traditional shito black sauce. It’s served with side dishes, such as fish, beef, spaghetti, gari, wele cow hide, eggs, salads or fried plantains, all of which are nicely garnished and served hot in a special leaf. It's eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

You can see a video of Korean rice and beans wrapped and steamed in a lotus leaf here.

wisdom117@korea.kr

Korea-Philippines relations throughout the years

The KRW 100 coin is comparable to the PHP 1 coin.

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Abigail D. Albino

Photos = Yay Images

I’ve realized during the past few years that Korea and the Philippines are closer than you think. Besides only a four-hour flight between countries, the world between the two countries is merging.

It’s not just about the popularity of Korean pop music and TV shows in East Asia and elsewhere, music and TV shows with which my fellow Filipinos have fallen in love. There are Korean communities living in the Philippines and there are also Philippine communities living in Korea. Most of the Koreans that come to the Philippines are here for travel, to get an English-language education or for business. Most Filipinos I know in Korea go there to get jobs with better pay, or they've married a Korean. Some Filipinos have found greener pastures in Korea, and the same can be said for some Koreans who have found a home in the Philippines.

The relationship between the two countries goes all the way back to when the United Nations sent Philippine soldiers to Korea during the Korean War (1950-1953). Waves of Philippine soldiers were sent there when the war started in 1950, and they protected Korea until 1955. The greatest among these series of battles was the Battle of Yuldong, when Philippine soldiers fought Chinese communist soldiers during a night attack. The Filipinos prevented the communist soldiers from destroying the United Nations forces and stopped the growing communist hold on Korea.

Five veteran Philippine soldiers from the Korean War, together with their families, were invited by Korea’s Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on a Revisit Korea Program in 2012. From the interviews of these Philippine veterans, you can sense their awe as they see Korea has become one of the most progressive and richest countries in the world. It was a far cry from the 1950s and 1960s when Korea was besieged by war, and the Philippine soldiers experienced winter for the first time, too, when they fought these battles.

The Korean government and the private sector have also helped the Philippines in the past and through to the present. I'm grateful that a Korean engineering company designed the train system in my hometown of Davao. I am happy for the many Philippine workers who work in Korea to sustain their families and relatives back home. I’m glad that a Korean missionary family decided to rent our old house, near downtown Davao, as they're starting a life of service to the poor communities in there. I’m also grateful for my Korean language exchange partners -- Kim Eunjung, Jeong Hong-gyun and Ahn Weejeon -- for helping me learn Korean, as they practice their English with me.

In a nutshell, I’m happy South Korea and the Philippines have maintained a good relationship throughout all these years. I pray that this good relationship will continue for as long as our planet exists, and that both countries become a great example of how two countries can flourish through a good friendship.

wisdom117@korea.kr