Seollal fête
A stunning visual of Korean culture
Anna Nguyen
Issue date: 2/21/07 Section: Life & Style
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Tae-Kwon-Do began in Korea, and literally means "the way of the foot and hand," Kim said on-stage before the performance began. A Tae-Kwon-Do instructor led children and the performance ended with the children breaking pieces of wood. Cho modeled beautiful clothes worn by a lady from the royal councils of a palace, and Hyun chul Lim wore the male garbs. It took her about 40 minutes to put on the clothes."I think I spent about two hours to get ready," Cho said, whose hair was also styled that was reminiscent of a traditional royal council's coif complete with elaborate hair ornaments. "The hair was very heavy and very hard to move around with."
Though many of the guests wore their personally-owned Korean clothes, the costumes of the royal council were provided by the Korean Cultural Center in New York, Cho said. The traditional Korean clothes are called hanboks, which have been worn for thousands of years, according to a Korean information brochure. Hanboks are now "worn on days of celebration or special occasions such as weddings, 60th or 70th birthdays, and Seollal or Chuseok, according to the brochure.
The number of people who attended was not expected, Kim said. "We were expecting about 200 to 250 people, but about 400 attended. We are grateful and pleased." Additionally, the school "sent out about 200 invitation cards," but because of the overwhelming number of guests they "had to set up extra tables for the people," Cho said.
The celebration of Seollal was successful, Kim said that the school would continue to celebrate in the future so that they can share the culture to the community. Cho said she was also happy to celebrate the New Year with her Korean colleagues and students. "I am glad that we have finished the Korean New Year celebration successfully," Cho said. "I want to thank the people who made time to come celebrate the New Year with the Northwest Arkansas Korean School."
The fête had several sponsorships from the Dallas Korean Cultural Association; the Korean Cultural Center in New York; the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles; and the Korean Tourism Organization in Chicago and was sponsored by Shogun, Rice Village, Jimmy Chun, a representative of the Northwest Arkansas Korean School council, Sunghee An, a senior advisor and former director at the Northwest Arkansas Korean School; the Women Council of Korean United Methodist Church; and the Houston Korean Education Center, according to the handout.
Though many of the guests wore their personally-owned Korean clothes, the costumes of the royal council were provided by the Korean Cultural Center in New York, Cho said. The traditional Korean clothes are called hanboks, which have been worn for thousands of years, according to a Korean information brochure. Hanboks are now "worn on days of celebration or special occasions such as weddings, 60th or 70th birthdays, and Seollal or Chuseok, according to the brochure.
The number of people who attended was not expected, Kim said. "We were expecting about 200 to 250 people, but about 400 attended. We are grateful and pleased." Additionally, the school "sent out about 200 invitation cards," but because of the overwhelming number of guests they "had to set up extra tables for the people," Cho said.
The celebration of Seollal was successful, Kim said that the school would continue to celebrate in the future so that they can share the culture to the community. Cho said she was also happy to celebrate the New Year with her Korean colleagues and students. "I am glad that we have finished the Korean New Year celebration successfully," Cho said. "I want to thank the people who made time to come celebrate the New Year with the Northwest Arkansas Korean School."
The fête had several sponsorships from the Dallas Korean Cultural Association; the Korean Cultural Center in New York; the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles; and the Korean Tourism Organization in Chicago and was sponsored by Shogun, Rice Village, Jimmy Chun, a representative of the Northwest Arkansas Korean School council, Sunghee An, a senior advisor and former director at the Northwest Arkansas Korean School; the Women Council of Korean United Methodist Church; and the Houston Korean Education Center, according to the handout.
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