NEW YORK—The second annual Korean Day festivities attracted a large crowd to Central Park’s Naumburg Bandshell on Tuesday afternoon. The one-day event that was postponed from July 29 due to the recent heat wave drew the hit Korean band Sorea all the way from Korea, chefs from Korea Town restaurants on 32nd Street, and passersby strolling through Central Park.
Pamela Caspro and Marco Ferreira stepped out of the Central Park Mall and into the Joseon Dynasty.
The ladies at the Korean Cultural Service booth dressed Caspro up in the garb of a Joseon Dynasty queen. The costume, called a Hong-Won-Sam, would have been worn by queens throughout the five centuries the dynasty ruled, from 1392–1910. Ferreira was her king, in an elegantly embroidered Hwang-Ryong-Po yellow robe with a belt made of jade.
The couple got a photo keepsake to remember their moment of ancient Korean culture—a Polaroid snap-shot, a throw back to a less distant past. Nearly every hand in the crowd watching Sorea perform held a more modern device up to the stage to capture the moment.
The young women played traditional instruments such as the stringed kayakum, or the janggu double-sided drum. Neither their garb, nor their sound was wholly traditional.
“We’re using traditional Korean instruments to begin with,” explained Go Eun with the help of a translator. The 24-year-old began playing janggu as a hobby, but now vivaciously hammers out a beat on stage as a celebrated professional.
“We’re trying to bring out the unique sounds of those instruments and implement it into the modern sound,” said Go Eun.
Pamela Caspro and Marco Ferreira stepped out of the Central Park Mall and into the Joseon Dynasty.
The ladies at the Korean Cultural Service booth dressed Caspro up in the garb of a Joseon Dynasty queen. The costume, called a Hong-Won-Sam, would have been worn by queens throughout the five centuries the dynasty ruled, from 1392–1910. Ferreira was her king, in an elegantly embroidered Hwang-Ryong-Po yellow robe with a belt made of jade.
The couple got a photo keepsake to remember their moment of ancient Korean culture—a Polaroid snap-shot, a throw back to a less distant past. Nearly every hand in the crowd watching Sorea perform held a more modern device up to the stage to capture the moment.
The young women played traditional instruments such as the stringed kayakum, or the janggu double-sided drum. Neither their garb, nor their sound was wholly traditional.
“We’re using traditional Korean instruments to begin with,” explained Go Eun with the help of a translator. The 24-year-old began playing janggu as a hobby, but now vivaciously hammers out a beat on stage as a celebrated professional.
“We’re trying to bring out the unique sounds of those instruments and implement it into the modern sound,” said Go Eun.
Nneka Anunkor came with her friends, all in their teens, to see the competitors for the K-POP contest. K-POP is a term for Korean youth pop-culture, especially characterized by girl groups, boy bands, and the latest fashion. The winners get a free flight to Korea.
The K-POP flight wasn’t the only thing that was free at Tuesday’s festivities. Long lines led to booths offering a wide variety of traditional dishes. The aim was to promote a love and appreciation of Korea’s flavors.
Kim chi is the most copious/abundant dish in Korean cuisine, but according to a voting board put up for public input, Japchae was the most enjoyed.
Japchae translates as “mixing greens and vegetables.” Glass noodles are boiled, then stir-fried with spinach, mushrooms, carrots, beef, and onion.
The Korean food was free and fun. Kids took turns applying wooden mallets to rice-dough, a process that makes it more adhesive before it is baked into rice cakes. A bang and then a puff of smoke came from an old-fashioned metal contraption that yielded a batch of Korean popcorn, Bbungiyo.
A burst of drumming with cultural flare resounded from the bandshell following Sorea’s modern-traditional performance.
A group of young men played drums of various sorts and sizes in a traditional performance called Samulnori. Dressed in dark tunics, white pants and red and blue sashes, the men emphatically moved their heads and bodies with the beat.
From the sharp clang of the kkanggari, a tiny, steel hand-held plate, to the booming janggu, the layers of drumming resounded with a din that has accompanied Korean celebrations for centuries.
The K-POP flight wasn’t the only thing that was free at Tuesday’s festivities. Long lines led to booths offering a wide variety of traditional dishes. The aim was to promote a love and appreciation of Korea’s flavors.
Kim chi is the most copious/abundant dish in Korean cuisine, but according to a voting board put up for public input, Japchae was the most enjoyed.
Japchae translates as “mixing greens and vegetables.” Glass noodles are boiled, then stir-fried with spinach, mushrooms, carrots, beef, and onion.
The Korean food was free and fun. Kids took turns applying wooden mallets to rice-dough, a process that makes it more adhesive before it is baked into rice cakes. A bang and then a puff of smoke came from an old-fashioned metal contraption that yielded a batch of Korean popcorn, Bbungiyo.
A burst of drumming with cultural flare resounded from the bandshell following Sorea’s modern-traditional performance.
A group of young men played drums of various sorts and sizes in a traditional performance called Samulnori. Dressed in dark tunics, white pants and red and blue sashes, the men emphatically moved their heads and bodies with the beat.
From the sharp clang of the kkanggari, a tiny, steel hand-held plate, to the booming janggu, the layers of drumming resounded with a din that has accompanied Korean celebrations for centuries.
