Silla's Wonderful Entertainment Culture, Customs and Historical Sites Resurrected as a Performance "Song in Praise of Giparang" is a 10-line folk ballad written by the monk Chungdamsa to praise the Hwarang during King Gyeongdeok’s reign. It is a ballad that aims to portray the proud spirit and character of Hwarang Gi-pa. "Song in Praise of Giparang" recreates the activities and customs of the Silla Dynasty including the five traditional banquet acts "Silla Ogi," full moon pagoda circling "Daeboreum Tapdori" and a traditional Buddhist ritual of throwing flowers on the road for Buddha "Sanhwa Gongdeok" that are recorded in Choi Chi-won's Chinese-styled poetry, Hansi. In addition, Gi-pa and Bo-guk's great love story that continues from the world of the living to the afterlife is beautifully recreated with ancient ruins from the time of Silla such as Donggung Palace, the palace of the crown prince of Silla, Wolji Pond, Bulguksa Temple, and the nine-story pagoda of Hwangnyongsa Temple as backgrounds. -Courtesy of Jeongdong Theater

The Seoul Independent Movie Festival is jointly held by the Korean Film Council and the Association of Korean Independent Film & Video. The festival features a national independent film competition and gives awards regardless of theme, type, and length throughout varied genres including plays, experiential documentaries, and animated films. Also, the individual invitation program plans to introduce a variety of trends regarding independent movies. Contemporary indie film makers will gather up to envision a movie reflecting the spirit of the age and to find a good alternative to the existing films. In an effort not to make this festival a one-off event, the Seoul Independent Film Festival is gearing up to revitalize the independent film industry through indie picnic tour screenings, DVD production, online screening, and others. Seoul Independent Movie Festival volunteers have helped revive a “film jury system” for audience members to become critics. The Seoul Independent Movie Festival runs on a daily basis, which has been constantly expanded to distributing channels for independent films. The business aims to offer practical and realistic support for pre-production, distribution, and marketing in order to nurture the best independent film talent.

Deoksugung Pungnyu is a night-time traditional arts performance that takes place at Deoksugung Palace in downtown Seoul. Traditional art specialists (many officially recognized as ‘intangible cultural assets’) take the stage with their apprentices to fill the cool night air around the stately palace walls with the hauntingly beautiful melodies of the past. The performance is part of an effort to help visitors immerse themselves in the traditional Korean arts while getting a more authentic experience of the palace, instead of just observing the world of the ancients from afar.

Ansan Valley Rock Festival is now held annually at Ansan Daebu Sea Breeze Theme Park. As Korea’s biggest rock festival with a line-up of big-name musicians from Korea and abroad, Ansan Valley Rock Festival is ready to welcome music fans, moving from its previous location of Jisan Resort to the festival-only zone with an expansive view.

Sponsors / Management Jeonju Gamaek Festival Organizing Committe / Introduction Gamaek Festival held its first event in 2015 with an aim to become a "kind festival" by revitalizing the local economy, securing small business markets, promoting community bonding, and contributing to the society. The festival venue changed in 2017 from its previous location to accommodate more people, How to Particpate Present ID upon entering (Separate charge for beer & food coupons) Age Limit Age 19 & over Transportation From Jeonju Station Bus Stop (in front of Jeonju Station), take Bus No. 79, 72. Walk for approx. 700 m to Jeonju Sports Stadium. Homepage www.gamaek.com (Korean only)

K-POP CAMP offers dance and vocal courses, along with audition processing courses where the participants can create portfolio of their own and participate in the auditions. The camp options include sessions that last either 2, 4 or 6 weeks. K-POP CAMP will be with Hongdae KMC Music Academy and T.I.P Dance Academy. Anyone who loves K-POP music are welcomed!  

Since its inception in 1999, Ultra Music Festival (UMF) has been bringing the greatest artists in electronic dance music to the city of Miami every March. In 2013, for the first time in the festival's history, Ultra was held over two weekends in honor of its fifteenth anniversary. Ultra Worldwide has firmly established itself as a global brand for presenting cutting-edge productions and the hottest EDM lineups year after year. Boasting the world's best DJs, artists, and producers, Ultra Music Festival has successfully expanded to other countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Spain, and South Korea.   Ultra Music Festival Korea (Ultra Korea) will be held in Seoul this June, following the successful UMF South Africa in February and UMF Miami in March, which drew an estimated of 160,000 fans each.  

Jeongwol Daeboreum falls on January 15 each year on the lunar calendar, and always takes places on the full moon. It is the brightest moon of the year, and a day for telling fortunes and a national holiday in Korea. The Korean Folk Village plans a special Jeongwol Daeboreum event each year to celebrate. The event features traditional Daeboreum activities including burning daljip (brushwood), Jangseungje ceremony, Byeotgaritdae seugi (making a stack of rice straw), Jisinbapgi and Gilnori, sharing Boreum food and special performances like Bukcheong Saja Noreum (play about lions), juldarigi (tug-of-war) and more. For more information, check out the folk village's homepage or make inquiries at +82-31-288-0000.

Gwangju Biennale is an international contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years. Taking place in 2014, the event marks 10th anniversay and will celebrate the importance of being together though the theme of “Burning Down the House (터전을 불태우라).” It will bring together many different people, different times, various roles in arts production, and numerous different positions toward power such as exist  in various social, political, and cultural situations. The biennale consists of an exhibition, several workshops, e-journals, books, and various programs such as residency programs and new commissions. [About the 2014's theme] Burning Down the Houseexplores the process of burning and transformation, a cycle of obliteration and renewal witnessed throughout history. Evident in aesthetics, historical events, and an increasingly rapid course of redundancy and renewal in commercial culture, the Biennale reflects on this process of, often violent, events of destruction or self-destruction―burning the home one occupies―followed by the promise of the new and the hope for change. In the 1930s the critic Walter Benjamin coined the term ‘Tigersprung’ (the tiger’s leap) for a new model of history where the past is activated in and through the present within a culture industry that demands constant renewal. What can the ‘Tigerspung’ mean for today’s ‘tiger economies’ like South Korea in a context where economic and political powers deliver the eternally new of fashionable commodities and industrial progress at the apparent expense of a cultural past? Burning Down the House looks at the spiral of rejection and revitalization that this process implies. The theme highlights the capacity of art to critique the establishment through an exploration that includes the visual, sound, movement and dramatic performance. At the same time, it recognises the possibility and impossibility within art to deal directly and concretely with politics. The energy, the materiality and processes of burning ― the manner in which material is changed and destroyed by flames into the residue of dramatic interventions or remnants of celebrations ― have long informed artistic practice. The transformative powers of fire are central to the way in which this exhibition has been imagined. -Courtesy of Gwangju Biennale Foundation  

Sinchon Christmas Market offers a chance to enjoy a special Christmas event with the loved ones. Started in 2013, the streets of Sinchon is blocked off for a safe and fun street festival. Don't miss out on this special winter street festival!