Arts and Culture: Arirang Festival on the Streets of Insadong

Now it's time for our daily arts and culture update with Yim Yoonhee live in the studio.
Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Conn-young.

We had some beautiful weather this past weekend here in Seoul, which made for a perfect time for festivals. What were some of the most popular ones?

This past Saturday an Arirang festival took place in Insadong here in Seoul.
Just to clarify...this festival is named after Arirang, the traditional folk song that's often considered an unofficial anthem of Korea.
This all takes place in Insadong, which is a hotspot for traditional Korean culture.
It's a festival that celebrates Korea's traditions while ushering the new spring.
Let's take a look.

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A shining symbol of tradition in Korea, the car-free, pedestrian-filled spring streets of Insadong also usher in the Arirang Festival.

The festival kicks off with a street parade led by a group playing the daechwita.

Drawing heads, and following behind the guards, were those in royal hanboks from the Joseon Dynasty.

But the real star of the show were the children daechwita musicians.

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The 2014 Insadong Arirang Festival was held outside and had several venues that took part of the open-air environment.

Another popular performance was the hanbok fashion show featuring local residents as the models.

To add to the excitement of the festival, special magician guest Lee Joon-hyung showcased a creative performance for the festival.

The Taepyeongmu Dance also delighted the crowd with its quick steps, showing off the traditional Korean art.

And finally, the long-awaited Arirang performances An opening by a Korean traditional ensemble helped to spark the curiousity of the crowd.

Following that, was Miryang Arirang, which is a performance that represents the gyeongsang-do provinces.

A performance by Gugak star SONG So-hee and a children's choir fill the streets of insadong with the song, Arirang.

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⑪ Kerstin Danzer & Andreas Brun
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Like Insadong, there are some 20 cities all over Korea that hold festivals themed around Arirang. And the traditional folk song's popularity only grew after it was inscribed on the UNESCO list of intangible cultrural heritages.


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There are so many variations of Arirang but it seems everyone is agreed upon the fact that it represents Korea and Korea's traditional history.
I know that Insadong was recently remodeled.

Yes and this festival celebrated the opening of the new Upper Insadong street which was expanded to 2 times the previous size.
Now there's even more room for all of the museums and activities that take place there.

Now, I heard there was another Arirang Festival this past weekend as well.

You're right.
There was a festival that took place in New York this past Saturday as well.
It was another Arirang Festival that was created to promote the inclusion of Arirang into UNESCO's program of Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The festival involved performances by some very famous Korean artists and musicians as well, including a congratulatory message by UN Secretary General Ban-hi Moon.

We'll be sure to keep an eye out for more Arirang related events.
Thank you for today.

Always a pleasure.