Korean Cultural Center marks '1'

MANILA, Philippines - The Korean Cultural Center is celebrating its first year with a series of events lined-up until August. The events are geared towards further promotion of Korean Culture in the Philippines.

The center, together with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and the Korea Ceramic Foundation (KOCEF) will be launching Living Ceramics: The Modern Touch of Korean Heritage tomorrow, July 13 with 15 Korean artists in participation. The exhibit will be highlighting the celebrated Korean ceramic tradition, which has been infused with modern touches and techniques throughout the history of Korea’s heritage and ceramic culture.

Also lined up is the 2012 Pinoy K-Pop Star on July 21 at the center. The winner of the 2012 Pinoy K-Pop Star will get a chance to represent the Philippines in the K-Pop World Festival in Korea in October, where all the winners of the Korean Cultural Centers worldwide will compete for the coveted title. In the first K-Pop World Festival, the representative of the Philippines, Karla Carreon, won grand prize for the vocals, and the Kazakhstan duo representative JAM won for the dance.

The center will bring in Korean group Boyfriend on July 28 for the Hallyu Fest, capping off a day dedicated to Hallyu fans nationwide. Apart from the presence of Boyfriend, the K-Pop Cover Dance Group Contest will also take place. The winning group will represent the Philippines in the K-Pop Dance Cover Festival in Gyeongju, Korea to be held in the Hallyu Dream Festival in September. There are other several events for the Hallyu fest such as the drama cosplay competition, photo contest, raffles and games.

To cap off the celebration, the center will hold a Philippine-Korea Exchange Day on Aug. 10 which allows participants from two nations to interact with each other and learn more about their respective cultures. The program includes seminars on living in Korea and in the Philippines, and coping with each other’s cultural quirks, as well as culture and language classes for both nationalities.

For details, call 555-1711 or e-mail at [email protected] or [email protected].