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