Korea comes to campus
Joan Yip
Campus let out a loud “Annyeong-haseyo!” this week at the start of a week-long festival of events celebrating the vibrant culture of Korea.
Korea Week 2011 showcases modern and traditional aspects of Korean culture, such as street dance and singing performances, seminars on Korean culture, literature and history, and workshops on Korean language and teaching.
Speaking at the opening ceremony on 22 March, Deputy Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Hong Kong, Mr Min Kyong-ho, said the timing for the CityU Korea Week was perfect because Korea and Hong Kong are currently preparing to celebrate the 62nd anniversary of consular relations.
Professor Way Kuo, University President, expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the support that the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Hong Kong and the local Korean business sector have extended to CityU. “This event helps us foster a multi-cultural enrichment experience for CityU students and colleagues,” he said.
Professor Gregory Lee, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and Director of the Hong Kong Advanced Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Studies, and Professor Jonathan Webster, Head of the Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics, also attended the opening ceremony.
The most popular programme among the many festivities is perhaps the re-enactment of the traditional Korean wedding ceremony, which was held on 23 March.
CityU teachers and students and the local Korean community donned traditional wedding garb and performed the rituals of Jeonanrye (presentation of wild goose), Gyobaerye (bowing) and Hapgeunrye (drinking).
The biennial cultural event, organised by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics, lasts from 22 to 26 March.