More than 300 people are expected to attend the Korean Festival this Friday to enjoy authentic food, a taekwondo demonstration, Korean dance instruction and prize games.
On March 1, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., the BYU Korean Students Association is hosting the annual Korean festival in the Wilkinson Student Center Garden Court and ballroom.
Hwa Lee, the 27th president of the Korean Student Association, said the association is trying to make this year’s festival particularly fun for guests.
“This is actually an annual activity,” Lee said, “but we did not do one last year because we wanted to save money for a bigger event.”
Lee and his club members have been working hard to create interactive activities with prize incentives to play.
“It will be filled with activity booths,” Lee said. “Pretty much like Nickel City, just smaller.”
Lee is hoping the booths and activities will help students get better acquainted with Korean culture.
“There will be a food booth and culture booth explaining the difference between Korea and other cultures,” Lee said. “We are also trying to show similarities between the U.S. and Korea, especially these days when everything is so global.”
Marrianna Thomas, an Asian studies major from Missouri, is a member of the Korean Association and is running the pop music booth at the Korean festival. Thomas wants to help people who come to the festival get excited about Korean culture.
“I love (Koreans’) sense of humor, and their food is amazing,” Thomas said. “I want (attendees) to see how cool Korea is and get more exposure.”
Sooryun Lee, one of three vice presidents of the Korean association, has been working hard to make the festival a fun experience catered to non-Koreans.
“We want people to know the difference between Korea, China and Japan,” Lee said. “We believe there are more sources on and offline on Japan and China, and we wanted to promote our (Korean) culture … Korean people are good at having fun, and that is what we do.”
This event is also part of BYU Care Week, so a portion of ticket sales will be donated to the local non-profit organization Habitat for Humanity.
Tickets to this event can be purchased at the Wilkinson Student Center Information Desk. They are $2 pre-sale and $3 at the door. For more information visit facebook.com/byuksa.
