Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival is a landmark festivity held every October at Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site built to commemorate King Jeongjo’s filial piety and dream for national prosperity and military power.
As part of the Creation of Living Palaces project, the Changdeokgung Palace Moonlight Tour offers a unique opportunity to witness and experience palatial beauty. The tour begins from the main gate, Donhwamun Gate (돈화문), and continues on for approximately two hours through Injeongjeon Hall (인정전), Nakseonjae (낙선재), and Huwon (후원, meaning "secret garden"). To make a reservation, visit the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation website. Reservations are accepted from 20 days before the event.Initially built as a royal villa, Changdeokgung Palace became the central governance compound during the Joseon Dynasty after the former principal palace, Gyeongbokgung Palace, was burned to the ground during the Japanese invasion in the 16th century. In addition to its political significance, the palace is known for its aesthetics and architecture, set against breathtaking natural scenery. In 1997, UNESCO designated Changdeokgung Palace as a World Cultural Heritage site.
The mask play of Hahoe Byeolsingut Exorcism itself, performed first by merchants in Andong Hahoe Village around mid 12th century is designated as Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 69. Hahoe Village, a clan village of the Pungsan Ryu family, preserves the traditional Korean way of life. The entire village has been designated as Important Folklore Material No.122. The mask dance performance has been performed to wish for much happiness and a good harvest for the village.
Event Programs: Byeolsingut Exorcism means an unusual and uncommon form of exorcism. In an agricultural society, a good harvest was considered to be the key factor of the village’s survival and the villages performed a sacrificial rite to pray to the heavens for an ever-lasting and bountiful harvest. As an act of incantation, the mask dance is made up of 10 episodes with a satirical story of former nobleman. The 10 episodes include: the ‘Gang Shin Episode’ (an invocatory rite of a would-be medium), the ‘Mudong Episode’ (the doll bride enters the stage), the ‘Juji Episode’ (Juji is an imaginary animal), the ‘Butcher Episode’ (a character butchers a cow without any hesitation), the ‘Granny Episode’ (the sorrow and joy of the lives of the public can be felt), the ‘Depraved Monk Episode’ (it satirizes the depraved monks and Buddhism at the end of the Goryeo dynasty), the ‘Nobleman Episode’ (it satirizes the hypocrisy and affectation of former noblemen), the ‘Dang Je’ (a ritual service for putting God back in his first place), the ‘Wedding Episode’ (the doll bride and the scholar marry) and the ‘Bridal Room Episode’ (describing their honeymoon).
Deoksugung Palace has held a guard-changing ceremony since 1996 after thorough historical research by leading historians. The ceremony, which is held in front of the Daehanmun Gate of Deoksugung Palace, is a tradition similar to the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace and offers a rare opportunity to experience royal culture. The royal gate is opened and closed at pre-determined times, and the gatekeepers in charge of guard duty and patrols hold a shift ceremony three times a day.
Special Programs: The Royal Guard-Changing Ceremony is a highly recommended event for tourists. It is held three times a day (11:00 / 14:00 / 15:30) in front of Daehanmun Gate at Deoksugung Palace. As each ceremony follows the same procedure and lasts for thirty minutes, visitors can choose whichever time is most convenient. The ceremony is free of charge. There are no ceremonies on Mondays as well as on severely cold or hot days.As the ceremony begins, the changing of the guards commences replete with traditional musical instruments, and exchanges a password for verification. An eight-minute guard ceremony ensues, followed by a seven-minute change ceremony, and finally a patrol that completes the ceremony. The procedure takes a dramatic turn when 18 guards in six official positions beat a drum and bellow some orders.
Major Highlights: The Royal Guard-Changing Ceremony is a great opportunity to experience a rare traditional scene. Be sure to bring a camera. The guards’ splendid costumes, with their brilliant primary colors, are a pleasure to view. While you cannot take pictures with the guards during the changing of guards, you can take a background picture of the guards and palace. You can also take photographs with the gatekeepers after the ceremony is over. Visit the palace and enjoy the beauty of Korean palaces following the ceremony.
The Hwangmaesan Royal Azalea Festival is held every year in May at Hwangmaesan County Park. The festival started in 1997 as an effort by local and overseas residents to preserve the azalea fields through hosting local cultural events. In 2012, the mountain was also included in CNN Travel's list of "50 Beautiful Places to Visit in Korea." Hwangmaesan is the filming site of several Korean movies such as Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War (태극기휘날리며), Welcome to Dongmakgol (웰컴투 동막골), A Story Of Bangja (방자전), Queen Seok Duk (선덕여왕), Horse Doctor (마의), and Bridal Mask (각시탈).
Incheon Bupyeong Pungmul Festival is a traditional music festival held in Bupyeong, Incheon, only an hour away from Seoul by subway. During this representative festival, people can enjoy Korean traditional Pungmul (farmer’s music) performances as well performances by invited groups from other Asian countries.
Among the unique festival events is a massive game of tug of war featuring a rope that is 100 meters long and 8 tons in weight. Other highlights are the street performances of Korean traditional music (called Gugak) and the Pungmul competition.
Heart-beating sounds of powerful percussion rhythm and Heart-filling melodies of beautiful Gukak!
Story of Korea with Korean traditional instruments; Dae-guem, Hae-geum, Gayaguen, and A-jaeng. When Fanta-Stick’s beating starts, your heart-beat will go up to the highest with the percussion sounds. Modern interpretation of Gukak based on tradition. Guaka is no longer boring. Experience new Korea.
* Point 1) Exciting Live Battle show between the Percussion family and the Gukak family!
- 100% Live Gukak performance that you can’t take your eyes off.
- The spirit of fusion Gukak composed by Kim, Baekchan; a music director of movies called ‘A Frozen Flower’ and ‘Blades of Blood’.
* Point 2) Collection of all representative contents of Korea
All the Korean representative contents in one performance! Percussion, fusion Gukak, Comedy, Korean traditional instruments, Korean traditional performances and so on.
* Point 3) Performance only for audiences and with audiences
An interactive performance made with audiences and performers together.
* Point 4) Fun! Main reason for watching a performance
Have fun with an exciting percussion performance and fill your heart with beautiful fusion Gukak performance.
*Note: Due to the MERS outbreak, some performances will be discontinued until July, 2015; please call to confirm.
The Itaewon Global Village Festival, held every fall, brings together a fun mix of Korean traditions and foreign cultures and stands out as one of the most internationally diverse celebrations of Seoul. It is indeed a fantastic multicultural event where people learn about and experience different culturals. A range of events take place during the festival beginning with an opening ceremony, performances of traditional dance from home and abroad as well as the Global Food Festival which runs throughout the weekend.
During the ‘Korea Grand Sale,’ held every year is to be held around the major tourist sites in Seoul, Busan and Jeju.International visitors will find the event and discount offers at major department stores, restaurants, accommodations and entertainment facilities.
In the wide grass field of Olympic Park in Jamsil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, the Seoul Jazz Festival will be held, featuring Asian top jazz festival. It is hosted in every May with world-famous artists who will entertain visitors during the festival.
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