▲Korean Culture Festival 2022 event poster

The Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa in cooperation with the Kotra Johannesburg (Korea Trade Centre) held the Korean Culture Festival 2022 event at the Cultural Centre on 26 August (Fri) and 27 August (Sat). As for the event program, various programs were held, including K-pop-related cultural events, Korean food experience stalls, spicy noodle challenges, K-beauty promotion and sales. Participation in the Korean cultural programs, and the festival was successfully completed with more than 1,500 locals attending.

▲ Visitors waiting to enter the centre before the start of the festival

Even before the start of the festival, many people inside and outside the Cultural Centre waited for the entrance by touring the cultural centre’s exhibition hall and Sarangbang, and traditional Korean games such as Tuho, Ttakji-chigi, and Jegi-chagi were prepared in the front yard of the Cultural Centre. Visitors who scored a certain score were given a small cultural product to add to the enjoyment of play.

▲ Visitors experiencing traditional Korean games in the front yard of the Cultural Centre

Visitors showed interest in and purchased various K-beauty products and K-pop-related products from local companies such as Luxeloft, Glow Theory, Funki Lines, and Cute & Quirky. This event provided an opportunity to promote Korean products to South Africa.

▲ Visitors showing interest in K-beauty products

In the courtyard of the Cultural Centre, a Korean food experience cart distributed Korean food such as little kimbap, sweet and sour chicken, and kimchi fried rice balls to visitors. Visitors said the taste of Korean food was so good, and the response was so good that they inquired about where the local Korean restaurant was located.

▲ Visitors chatting with friends over Korean food in the courtyard of the Cultural Centre

In the Korean cooking studio at the Cultural Centre, the Spicy Noodle Challenges were held.  Participants of the Spicy Noodle Challenges reacted by crying, saying it was spicy, but they expressed satisfaction with the participation, saying it was a lot of fun. The Spicy Noodle Challenges was one of the most popular programs amongst the cultural centre events. 

▲ Participants showing various reactions to the spicy noodle challenges held at the Cultural Centre Korean cooking studio

K-pop-related programs were held in the auditorium of the Cultural Centre. At first, mini K-pop classes were held, with the Cultural Centre’s K-pop Academy  instructors, Lindy and Susan teaching visitors the choreography of “PSY - That That”, and visitors of all ages came up to the stage of the auditorium to experience the charm of K-pop.

▲ K-pop dance class held on the stage of the Cultural Centre auditorium

After the K-pop dance class, we had a K-pop random dance play. Visitors who knew the choreography to random K-pop songs had a good time coming up to the stage and dancing. It was a moment where K-pop's global popularity could be felt as many visitors cheered and danced on stage to K-pop music.

▲ K-pop random dance play on the stage of the Cultural Centre auditorium

Finally, students from the K-pop Dance Academy at the Cultural Centre and the instructors called the "Dream Team" performed a high-quality K-pop performance.  All the visitors responded with a big round of applause to the dance skills reminiscent of professional dancers, and even after the stage, the visitors shouted encores and expressed satisfaction.

▲ K-pop Dance Academy students and instructors at the Cultural Centre presenting K-pop dance Performances

In the future, the Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa will continue to hold various Hallyu cultural events to increase interest in Korea and enhance the image of Korea, such as promoting events that combine promotion of Korean culture and consumer goods in cooperation with related organizations such as Kotra.