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| ▲ This photo, provided by the MCST, shows the poster for 'The First Newtro Festival - Today's Traditions.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Yonhap) – South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST) has joined hands with the Korea Craft and Design Foundation (KCDF) to hold “The First Newtro Festival - Today’s Traditions” at the Culture Station Seoul 284, from Jan. 19 to Feb. 26, except for Jan. 22, which is the Lunar New Year.
As the name suggests, the Festival was planned with the motif of the public experiencing a sense of novelty from the old whilst enjoying traditional culture anew – the Festival intends to summon the old traditions and apply them to modern values.
The Festival will showcase the traditional culture advocation projects that the MCST and KCDF had worked on over the past three years, including supporting the youth start-ups in the traditional culture sector, buttressing the hanbok and hanji culture industries, and publicizing traditional play culture.
The Central Hall of the Culture Station Seoul 284 will be decorated under the theme of the Korean traditional story “The Moon Rabbit” in celebration of the Year of the Black Rabbit. The event venue will be divided into 5 different sections: “Usefully,” “Lively,” “Beautifully,” “Happily,” and “Healthily.”
During the one-month Festival, traditional cultural products made by new start-ups will be sold, along with the media art “New Color Changyeon” showcased under the theme of Najeon lacquerware and Joseon royal cloth; hanok and hanbok content videos produced by using the virtual space Zepeto will also be screened.
Visitors will be able to experience the original and gorgeous style and taste of traditional culture by thumbing through the traditional Korean garments and papers, tasting traditional Korean food, and playing traditional games such as Yut Nori, Jegi Chagi, and Bisa Chigi, as well as Ddakgi Chigi that went viral by appearing in the 2021 Netflix sensation “Squid Game.”
The Festival will be hosting more events, with making coloring books and hanji mobiles held at all times, along with traditional games such as Tuho Nori and Jwibul Nori held at the Square of the Culture Station. Souvenirs will also be given out to visitors who visit the exhibition hall wearing hanbok during the Lunar New Year holidays.
The opening ceremony of the Festival will be held on Wednesday, the day before the event; Pound Corporation, which developed a product combining the scent of the Joseon Dynasty with the modern incense stick, will be winning the MCST Minister’s Award as the most distinguished start-up in the traditional culture industry. Jeong Byung-keuk, the first vice minister of the MCST, will be attending the ceremony to present the Award himself.
A total of 11 other exceptional start-up firms, including Pound Corp., and 38 pre-startup operators who have been nominated for the start-up idea contest will also be receiving their awards.
“We hope that the First Newtro Festival will serve as an opportunity to raise public awareness and interest in traditional cultures, and also strike young adults with inspiration and imagination ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays,” said Vice Minister Jeon Byung-keuk.
Details on the Festival can be found on the official websites of KCDF (www.kcdf.kr) and Culture Station Seoul 284 (www.seoul294.org), as well as their official social media accounts.
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
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