On Sept. 14, BYU celebrated Korean culture by hosting second annual Bopsim Korean Festival.
The event was sponsored by Cupbop and invited everyone to enjoy Korean food and culture.
According to event organizers, Bopsim is the first Korean festival held in Provo. Hundreds of people attended to explore Korean food, dance, sports, cosmetics and culture.
The festival was planned around Chuseok — a Korean holiday, similar to Thanksgiving, celebrated from Sept. 16-18.
In 2023, the event was held at the University of Utah, and this time, with the help of Brad Taylor, the BYU Office of Belonging, BYU Athletics and the BYU Marriott School of Business, BYU had the opportunity to host it. All proceeds went toward educational initiatives.
Cupbop, headquartered in Salt Lake City, is a fast-casual street food company serving Korean BBQ in a cup. They were the main sponsors of the Bopsim event.
Roy Park, an attendee, shared his thoughts on Korean culture.
“It’s becoming globalized; everyone is a fan of K-dramas, and a bunch of people like everything about Korean culture, like Korean food or Korean BBQ,” Park said.
Jin Han, a volunteer for the event, expressed her enthusiasm.
“I love how it’s not just Cupbop, but they’ve brought in other Korean companies," Han said. "I love seeing it all come together in one event, so people can experience not just Cupbop, but other parts of Korean culture as well."
Many Korean organizations participated in the festival by running various booths showcasing their products and services. Cupbop, Lotte, Nutricost, Kosme, Suhyup, Binggrae, SPC Samlip, Wang Korea, Ottogi, Nongshim, Sejong Institute and Imagine Your Korea are organizations that are well-known in South Korea, as well as recognized globally.
Another major festival sponsor was the Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles. They are an organization run by the South Korean Government's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism that focuses on fostering cultural exchange between Korea and the U.S. through cultural and educational activities.
Brad Taylor helped bring Bopsim — pronounced "bop-sheem" — to BYU. He served as a mission president in Seoul, South Korea, and returned to continue working at BYU. Taylor explained the meaning behind Bopsim.
“'Bop,' specifically, means rice, but they use it in a broader context as a word for food. ‘Sim’ means strength or power, so they put it together. It’s a made-up word that means strength, power, and energy through good food. Because the main sponsor is Cupbop, they came up with Bopsim, and it’s about Korean food, culture, music, dancing, K-pop, K-dramas — everything.”
Taylor described how the two-year journey of organizing the event began.
“I was making a film with Elder Holland when I met the two founders of Cupbop, and they said, ‘We’ve had a Korean cultural event at the University of Utah, but we’ve never been able to crack into BYU. It’s harder than Fort Knox.’
Inspired, Taylor promised to navigate a way for them to bring the Korean culture to BYU.
Brilynn Bentz, a UVU student and member of HER’d — a Random Play Dance team — shared her favorite part of participating in a K-pop imitation group.
“Being able to do the choreography to the songs I love is so much fun, especially when I care a lot about the group. It’s fun to put myself in the idols' shoes and dance as them,” Bentz said. “I get a sense of pride when I feel good about a dance, and it’s just a lot of fun.”
Many groups and individuals performed, ranging from a local Taekwondo group to buchaechum — traditional Korean fan dancing — performers who flew in from Korea.
Taylor also expressed his appreciation for the BYU Office of Belonging, who had a major hand in getting BYU to host the event.
“One of the major sponsors that made this happen was the Office of Belonging," Taylor said. "It wouldn’t have happened without them, and their interest was in helping BYU students engage in other cultures, grow understanding and appreciate and love other cultures."
According to volunteers, Bopsim was created to spread love for Korean culture while also fostering a sense of belonging. At the start of the event, there was a line out the BYU ballroom doors, with people of all ages and backgrounds wanting to participate.
Taylor described the festival as an "amazing cultural program that shares another country’s culture in a way that creates understanding, connection and love.”
