Hi Seoul Festival 2009 to Be Held May 2^nd to May 10^th

- Seoul Plaza Turns to the Palace of the Heaven and Five Ancient Palaces Tell the History and Culture of Seoul

- “Hot Pink” Chosen as Theme Color for the Festival to Symbolize Hope and Love

The “Hi Seoul Festival 2009,” celebrating the 7^th anniversary this year, will be held from May 2^nd to 10^th at Seoul Plaza, the lawn-covered public square located in front of Seoul City Hall, and the Cheonggyecheon, a stream which runs through the heart of Seoul, as well as five royal palaces in this modern city with ancient history.

Initiated in 2003 to sustain the festive mood of the previous year that swept the entire country during the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, commonly termed as the ‘red fever,’ the Hi Seoul Festival has since become Seoul’s most representative festival, adding various cultural elements to the festive atmosphere that prompted eager participation from ten million Seoul citizens and mesmerized international tourists who were visiting the city during the period. Approximately 1.45 million people including 180,000-strong foreign visitors witnessed and participated in the Festival held in spring alone last year.

“Spring in Seoul Blossoms in Hope”

The main theme of this year’s Festival is set for “Spring in Seoul Blossoms in Hope” and the fitting theme color of “hot pink” that symbolizes “love and hope” has been chosen. Everything about the Festival, ranging from booths to catalogues, will be in hot pink color. Choreographer Eun-mi Ahn, the Art Director of the Hi Seoul Festival 2009, said: “Color moves human emotion better than the words do. As the red color symbolized the cheering fever of Korean people during the 2002 World Cup Games, it is hoped that the hot pink color we chose will be carved in the hearts of citizens and visitors as the symbol of love and hope.”

Highlights of the Festival

Programs and performances are designed to tell the tales of Seoul through location-based themes. This is intended to help citizens to overcome the hardships of today by connecting and looking back to the hardships that were endured in the nation’s history. By doing so, the Festival will engender feelings of hope for the future in the community.

“Hot Pink Parade”

The Festival kicks off at Cheonggye Plaza on May 2^nd with a street parade dubbed “Hot Pink Parade.” To communicate the connection between the past, present and future of Seoul, the Parade will go with a mix of traditional and futuristic themed balloons, which include the ancient masks of Seoul and ten symbols of longevity, to adorn the skies of Seoul in a magnificent shade of hot pink.

“Royal Palace of May, Palace of the Heaven”

A giant figurative art display entitled “Royal Palace of May, Palace of the Heaven” will be installed at Seoul Plaza, one of the main venues for the Festival. Using textile strands in excess of 200 meters to connect Seoul Plaza and several buildings in the vicinity, this art display will be shaped in the form of many dragons ascending and covering the skies. The display conveys the message of “communication” between the city and its citizens as well as “accompaniment” of tradition and modernity. “The design of ‘Palace of the Heaven’ is based on Asian philosophy,” says Professor Woon-gyu Jang of Kookmin University who designed this art work. “This is an imaginary palace in the sky with a waterway flowing freely into a third dimensional shape, which will transform into many different shapes through wind, sun, lights and media to offer visitors many sensory delights.”

“Tales of Five Palaces”

To illustrate the 600-year-old history of Seoul’s cultural icon, “Tales of Five Palaces” will be presented at the five royal palaces including Gyeongbokgung, Changgyeonggung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung and Gyeonghuigung in which visitors can learn the history of the Joseon Dynasty (1392~1910) and experience the unique traditional culture at first hand. On May 3^rd, the coronation ceremony of the Great King Sejong, the fourth king of Joseon who created Hangeul, or the Korean alphabet, will take place at the Gyeongbokgung. At Deoksugung, “Dreaming of Modern Civilization: King Gojong” tells the turbulent history of the Imperial Korea. At Changgyeonggung, visitors can experience the life of a royal through “A Day in the Royal Palace” program, and at the Gyeonghuigung one can enjoy the famed musical “Daejanggeum” (English title: Jewel in the Korean palace) and learn about the heritage of Joseon cuisine.

“Coin Lawn of Love”

The Festival will also feature a fundraising program under the spirit of “sharing” in order to overcome the current economic difficulties. Participants and visitors to Cheonggye Plaza, located at the starting point of the restored stream, will toss coins to raise one billion won (approx. 724,000 US dollars) and create a “Coin Lawn of Love.” In addition, “Hot Pink Flea Market” will be held at the Cheonggyecheon area on the 9^th and 10^th , where one can bring and sell unused or second-hand items to raise funds that will be used to help people in need as well as to fight child hunger.

“Concert for All”

Citizens to be selected from public contests during the Festival will perform “Concert for All” to be held from May 3^rd to 10^th. A star-studded concert will take place on the 9^th in which celebrities sponsoring the World Vision, a global charity and relief organization, will offer their time and talent for the charitable cause.

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Additional Information Attached:

1.  Hi Seoul Festival 2009 Schedule

2.  History of Hi Seoul Festival

3. Ancient Palace Musical “Daejanggeum” Season II

4. Profile: Festival Art Director Eun-mi Ahn

5.  Profile: Architect Woon-gyu Jang

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

1.  Hi Seoul Festival 2009 Schedule

* Programs are subject to change.

2.  History of Hi Seoul Festival

2003 Hi Seoul Festival: “Open Your Seoul”

Seoul organized traditional parades along with various artistic activities and cultural events to give people opportunities to experience the city. The successful opening of the festival in 2003 became the cornerstone to continue the festival every following year.

s          Participant: approx. 600,000

2004 Hi Seoul Festival: “RED – Refreshing, Exciting, Dynamic”            

In order to re-spark the spirits of the 2002 World Cup, Seoul chose the theme “Red.” Through various sponsored programs such as Hallyu Festival (fashion show presented by Korean stars), light festival and rock concerts, Seoulites were thrilled with excitements.

s          Participants: approx. 1.6 million

2005 Hi Seoul Festival: “Seoul Mania & Green”            

To celebrate the successful restoration of the Cheonggyecheon stream, Seoul chose the theme “Seoul Mania & Green.” Various cultural events were held around Cheonggye Plaza and pristine Seoul Forest, a Hyde Park of Seoul, so that citizens and visitors alike can show more love toward the city.

s          Participants: approx. 2.02 million

2006 Hi Seoul Festival: “Seoul 人, Seoul-in”    

The theme “Seoul 人, Seoul-in” (人 pronounces “in” in Korean) was chosen to emphasize that the world is concentrating their interests toward Seoul. Furthermore, showing Seoulites’ dynamism allowed others to experience Seoul’s multi-cultural life as well.

Participants: approx. 1.3 million

2007 Hi Seoul Festival: “Miracle Seoul”

The festival was considered as an opportunity to show the world how much Seoul grew; thus the city chose the theme “Miracle Seoul, where traditions and future become one.” Many programs were organized around the riverside parks in order to bolster the understanding of the Hangang Renaissance projects.

s          Participants: approx. 4.45 million (including foreigners: approx. 400,000)

2008 Hi Seoul Festival

The Festival in 2008 was held four times seasonally and each season had a distinct theme: Spring – “Palace,” Summer – “Hangang,” Autumn – “Art” and Winter – “Light.”

s          Participants: approx. 10.52 million (spring: 1.45 million, summer: 1.09 million, autumn: 5.83 million, winter: 2.15 million)

3. Ancient Palace Musical “Daejanggeum” Season II

To make the best use of the historical and cultural ancient palace as a landmark of Seoul, the Seoul Foundation of Arts and Culture produced new musical program “Daejanggeum” to be played at Gyeonghuigung. Revived as a musical version of the famous Korean TV drama “Daejanggeum,” which gained huge fame and popularity in Asia, Europe, Africa, Middle East, and eventually worldwide in 2004, it gives opportunities to experience the architecture and culture of the Joseon Dynasty and magnificent music, in addition to embellished Korean clothes.

4. Profile: Festival Art Director Eun-mi Ahn

Choreographer Eun-mi Ahn has often received attention from the U.S., the U.K., Hong Kong and other countries in the world by her provocative dancing performance. She joined the Hi Seoul Festival organizing committee as the Art Director both in 2008 and 2009.

Director Ahn started traditional Korean dance when she was 12 years old. After graduating from Ewha Womans University, majoring in dance, she had the opening performance under her own name in 1988. She also participated in 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics rehearsal as a director. In 1992, she went to the U.S. and received Master’s degree from Tisch School of Arts, New York University. She choreographed “Starry Night” in 1988 and received the critics saying “full of dazzling imagination and witty story that gives fantasy like a magic” from the New York Times. In the movie “Beauty,” directed by Gyun-dong Yeo released in 2000, where many actors’ and actresses’ naked body brought attention from many people, she directed them to show not their physical body, but delicate image of inner body.

She has performed in many countries including Germany, Switzerland, the U.S., Hong Kong and the U.K. In 2002, she received Artist Fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts.

5. Profile: Architect Woon-gyu Jang

Woon-gyu Jang, currently the professor of architecture at Kookmin University and the principal of Unsangdong Architects Cooperation, an experimental architect group, is a renowned architect who received the Prime Minister’s Prize in the Korea’s Best Design Award and the First Place in the Korean Interior Design Contest in 2008. He also won prizes in a series of worldwide reputable contests such as 2008 Vanguard Award, New Architecture Tachyon, Venice Biennale Idea Contest, Intangible Cultural Asset Competition.

He was selected as one of the world’s best 40 architects from the Japanese journal “0+1” in 2001, and he was invited, as the first Korean architect, to give lectures both at University of California Berkeley in 2007 and the Royal Institute of British Architecture in 2008. He is running Art Gallery Jungmiso in Seoul.

He always seeks cultural expansion beyond architecture focusing on unseen images rather than physical attributes. Some of his outstanding works include the Egyptian Embassy to Korea, Gwangju Design Center, Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Center and Kring (Kumho Group’s house exhibition building).

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If you want to have interviews with Art Director Eun-mi Ahn, Professor Woon-gyu Jang or any other personnel with the festival, please contact us at your convenience.

You may download images and pictures of the Festival from the Webhard below:

s          URL: www.webhard.co.kr

s          ID: prainer / PW: pr3210

s          Folder name: SMG – HiSeoul Folder

Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture (www.sfac.or.kr) and Hi Seoul Festival 2009 Organizing Committee (www.hiseoulfest.org) are operating English online sites for international visitors and residents.