Celebrating and Understanding Korean Parents Day

I think the month of May is the Family Month. United Nations set May 15th as an International Parents Day, but it seems that day is not very familiar among world community as it commemoration didn’t echo around the globe.

Koreans also considered May as “The Family Month”. “Because in May, Korean at least commemorate three important days; Children Day on May 5th, Parents Day on May 8th and Teacher Day on May 15th. Those days are special days in Korea,” Public Relations Korean Culture Center (KCC) Indonesia, Kimberly Dewi Febrianti said on the sidelines of the“ Korean Parents Day” event at KCC office in Jakarta.

Participants “Korean Parents Day” Event at KCC Indonesia

In commemoration Korean Parents Day, KCC Indonesia invited Indonesians who interested in Korean culture so they can learn more on how Korean celebrating its Parents Day. From the event that day, I came to know the story behind Korean Parents Day. It was back to 1956, the missionaries from United States introduced Mother Day to Korean. Then, first president of Republic of Korea Rhee Syng-man (이승만) decided to set May 8th as Korean Mother’s Day. As time goes by, fathers in Korea began to feel envious why there is only mother’s day, there is not fathers’ day . So, in 1973, Korean government set May 8th as Korean Parents Day.

One of participant seriously making carnation

Here we are with our red carnations :)

On Parents Day, Koreans are usually pinning the carnation flower in right chest. Each colour of carnation flower has its own significance. Red carnation means parents, both mother and father are still alive. Pink carnation means one of parents, whether mother or father is still alive. White carnation means both mother and father have passed away.

So, on Parents Day event at KCC, the participants also made carnation flower from paper, with read or pink colour. It’s quite simple to make the artificial carnation from papers material but I needs some efforts to make it look like a real beautiful carnation.

My red carnation. not bad … :)

It’s also said that on Parents Day as it is considered as ‘family day’, many Koreans spend the whole day with all member of family. Children who already have their own income usually give special gift to their parents. According to Kimberly Dewi Febrianti, KCC Public Relation officer who explained us about Parents Day in Korea, there are three favourites gift today for Parents Day; money allowance, medical check-up and vacation packages.

Happy Parents Day greeting

I felt impressed knowing about Parents Day in Korea. I got more knowledge about culture and tradition in Korean society. In my country, Indonesia, we just have Mother’s Day celebrated every December 22nd, there is no Parents Day or Father’s Day. But I think we all have the same spirit to commemorate those special day to show our love, care and respect to our parents.

*this article also published at blog.korea.net and at korea.net

K- Festival and Enjoy, Gangwon Province!

Korea Festival is back. Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) Indonesia in cooperation with Embassy of the Republic of Korea and Korean Cultural Center Indonesia (KCCI) again held Korea Festival for three days, from 1~ 3 May 2015 at main atrium Lotte Shopping Avenue Jakarta.



I came to the festival on the last day on Sunday and I felt that K-Festival this year is quite different from the last one. The K-Festival this time is more festive, more attractive and more entertaining, with the present of K-pop boyband Neo Planet Icon (NPI) that make many teens girls hysterical, and also what impressed me a lot is Gangwon-do Province (here on referred as Gangwon) and its many beautiful tourist sites and annual events.

Gangwon is a province located on the east side of Korean Peninsula which became the main focus of the K-Festival this year with theme “K-Festival and Enjoy! Gangwon”. While enjoying the festival programs on Sunday, I met Aprillia Trilestari, Manager Research Development KTO Jakarta Office. She told me that K-Festival this year is actually to promote Gangwon Province and its various tourist attractions to Indonesians.



“Indonesians who go traveling to Korea always visit places such as Nami Island, Seorak Mountain, and Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) area but sometimes they are not aware that those places are in Gangwon. Because of the potential Indonesian tourists, Gangwon Province eager to attract more people in Indonesia to visit and enjoy Gangwon,” Aprillia said.

Besides that, Aprillia added, Gangwon wants to promote as ‘a Muslim friendly’ tourist destination in Korea by providing facilities for Muslim tourists such as Musholla ( a mosque but the size is smaller ) and many restaurants that serve halal food. So Muslim tourists, mostly from Indonesia, will feel comfortable during their visit to Gangwon.



“Our target this year, the number of Indonesia tourists visiting Gangwon increase by 20 percent of total Indonesia tourists visit to Korea,” Aprillia said.

Based on data from KTO Jakarta Office, the number of Indonesians visit to Korea tend to increase every year. On March 2015, there are 39,879 Indonesians visiting Korea for business, official visit, training, and in majority as to 23, 927 persons visit Korea for pleasure (excursion).

K-Festival and Enjoy ! Gangwon presented many programs and successfully attracted many people to come. At photo zone, I saw long queue of visitors who wants to pose wearing Korean traditional clothing Hanbok. At Cloud Bread Exhibition booth, many kids happily enjoyed drawing and colouring pictures. At Gangwon Province booth, of course, we can get many information and guide book about Gangwon tourism. And at the main stage, visitors can enjoy Samulnori and Nanta performances, there was also K-beauty make-up demonstration.






Last but not least the performance of a new comer Korean boyband Neo Planet Icon-NPI.  NPI consist of 6 members; Liyond, Rown, Pyeongki, Jonathan, Eunsu and Jun enliven the K-Festival not merely as a guest stars but as an official tourism ambassador of Gangwon Province.

Their appearance and stage performance made their fans-mostly teenage girls-screaming and crazy about. What is very surprising is when NPI sang a dangdut ( a kind of Indonesian music genre ) song entitled “Sakitnya Tuh di Sini” which is very popular in Indonesia today, an another Indonesian romantic song “Janji Suci”. Some of NPI members also showed their ability to speak Bahasa. Awesome.





From Gangwon tourism photo exhibition on K-Festival 2015, I relished and admired the beauty of nature of Gangwon which is also well-known as “The Land of Nature”. If I have the opportunity to visit Korea, I will explore its beauty for sure.

*this article also published at blog.korea.net  and at korea.net

Korean Experts Aid Indonesian Furniture Manufacturers Enter Korean Market

At the end of this April, I’ve got an invitation from The Ministry of Trade of Indonesia to attend the opening of seminar entitled “Product Development Workshop for Indonesian Furniture Manufacturers”. This seminar held by Asean-Korea Center (AKC) in cooperation with Directorate General of National Export Development The Ministry of Trade of Indonesia.



AKC is an international organization mandated to promote cooperation between the 10 Asean member states and Korea, based in Seoul, South Korea. This organization was organized the seminar to invigorate economic exchanges between Indonesia and Korea by promoting product development cooperation in Indonesia’s export-competitive furniture industry.

South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia, Cho Tae-Young

In the opening speech, South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Cho Tae-Young said that this seminar is very important for both Indonesia and Korea to boost their bilateral trade relationship.

“Through this workshop, I hope Indonesian furniture manufacturers are be able to figure out the what kind of furniture and its designs which is becoming trend and satisfy consumer tastes in Korea,” Cho Tae-Young Said.

Meanwhile, Second Deputy Head of Asean-Korea Center Ki Bong Moon said that this seminar and workshop is also to give more information about Korea market acces in furniture products for Indonesian would-be exporters especially the standard of the quality products.

“Indonesia is expected to contribute more to satisfy the growing demand of wooden furniture in Korea,” Ki Bong Moon added.

Second Deputy Head of Asean-Korea Center, Ki Bong Moon

Asean-Korea Center sent some Korean experts to give lectures on this seminar, such as Profesor Kang Min Lee from Korea Polytechnic University, General Manager Livart Co. Hye Jin Kang, Chief Designer EMONS Co. Kyung Bin Na, CEO In The Furniture Jong Woo Hong and CEO Korea Biz Tech Consulting Seung So Choi. The experts give presentations on various topics from design trends, quality enhancement methods to purchasing trends and procedures.

From this seminar I came to know that as of 2014, Indonesia is Korea’s number 7 furniture importing country (55,47 million USD), which out of the Asean member states is the highest ranking after Vietnam.

According to Director General of Domestic Trade The Ministry of Trade of Indonesia Srie Agustina in her opening ceremony speech, quoted the calculation of The Asean-Korea Center, Indonesian furniture export to Korea could increase two fold in three years to come if Indonesia furniture manufacturers continues to maintain its consistency in enhancing their quality product.



“Korea is potential market to our furniture products, for that Indonesian furniture manufacturers are to be more aware about Korean market demands, the design trend, the quality and the procedures of the market acces,” Srie Agustina said.

On that occasion, Second Deputy Head of Asean-Korea Center Ki Bong Moon revealed that the Korean consumers’ preferences today tend to look for the furniture with simple design and minimized size, because many people in Korea live in limited-spacious apartments.

*this article also published at blog.korea.net  and at korea.net

Fans throng Korean Street Food Festival 2015 in Indonesia

Many Korean events have been held in Indonesia. But this is the first time Korean Street Food Festival 2015 opened in Jakarta. Following the name of the event, it presented meals which are often sold by the street vendors in Korea, or in Indonesian it’s called “jajanan” or “snacks.”



Certainly, events with the nuance of Korea, is always crowded with visitors, especially young people who are hit by Hallyu, and Korean Street Food Festival 2015 is no exception.







Once I came to the venue in a place that is located in South Jakarta, I saw a long queue, which apparently queuing visitors who purchase vouchers, to exchange with the food they want to buy at the festival, among others odeng, tteokbbokki, pajeon, gimbap and sweet rice punch, sikhye.




Of enthusiastic visitors, clearly seen a great interest among young people in Indonesia to experience Korean cuisine. There are many Korean restaurant or café in Indonesia now, but the price is still relatively expensive, mainly for young people. While in Korea Street Food Festival event, the price is quite cheap where they can spend only 10,000 rupiah (it’s about 835 KRW) per serving, and enjoy Korean street food that were made by native Korean, so they can experience the original taste of Korean street food.

The head of the Pendidikan Hangul Jakarta An Dae Young said that when I meet him on the sidelines of the event. He said that the event Korean Street Food Festival 2015 was organized to celebrate of the first anniversary of Jakarta Education Hangul – Korean Language Institute KT & G ( A Korean language course institution in Jakarta ).

“We chose Korean Street Food Festival, because we want to introduce Korean food to the people of Indonesia, at an affordable price,” said An Dae Young.









Meanwhile, a visitor named Ayu, a university student in Jakarta, said she was very pleased to attend and enjoy a variety of Korea street food. Ayu who like Korean dramas and K-pop revealed, ” there are a lot of positive things that can be copied from Korea, for example, its creativity, discipline and hard work. So, we not only enjoy the entertainment and food alone. ”

Besides enjoying a variety of Korea street food, the visitors can also try on traditional Korean dress (hanbok) , buy Korean style clothing and accessories, and join the talk-show about Korea and Korean food. The festival is really entertaining by the performance of local singer sang Korean pop songs and cover dance. What is most interesting is the present Korean singer named Jojo, who is just starting his singing career in Indonesia.

I was chatting with Jojo and asked why he was interested in creating his musical debut in Indonesia. The singer who originally taekwondo athlete, saying, that he wanted to try his luck in Indonesia as a singer.

 



“I am now living in Indonesia, and I love to sing. So I wanted to try a career here and get recognition from the people of Indonesia, ” Jojo said. To support his career, Jojo often appear in various events and is now being actively studying Indonesian.

Although he claimed that he is not fluent in Indonesian, but in the Korean Street Food Festival 2015, Jojo sang an Indonesia fluently and beautifully.

What is clear that Korean Food Festival 2015 was a real fun, and provide a special experience for those who really want to taste the typical Korean snacks.

*this article also published at blog.korea.net

Experiencing Korea New Year’s Day in My Country, Indonesia

Annyeonghaseyo …

First, I’d like to say to everybody who celebrate Korean Lunar New Year “Saehae bok mani badeuseyo … ” I hope it’s not too late to send the greeting and to share how Korean New Year celebrated in my country.

Last year’s Seollal Celebration at the Korean Cultural Centre Indonesia (KCCI, 2014)

Chinese New Year or “Imlek” is more popular in Indonesia than Korean New Year. This year Chinese New year fell on February 19, I think it’s the same with the date of Korean Lunar New Year’s day or Seollal.
But some people, especially young people Korea lovers in Jakarta, celebrated Seollal by participating in Seollal special event held by Korean Culture Centre (KCC) Indonesia.

Korean Culture Centre Indonesia’s Seollal Celebrations

Different with last year Seollal celebration in which KCCI invited about a hundred guests-most of them area Korea lovers-and made a small party. On that occasion, KCCI explained how Korean usually celebrate Seollal from the tradition of observed activity “Sebae” , traditional Korean food that is customarily eaten for Seollal “tteokguk” and some folk games which are associated with Seollal.

Seollal 2015 in KCCI

But this year, KCCI do not make a party but held “Seollal Contest” which is Hanbok Experience Contest and Tteokguk Contest.

According to KCCI Public Relation Officer Kimberly Dewi Febrianti said on Hanbok Experience Contest, KCCI gave special privilege for the first 30 participant to try on King and Queen Hanbok and KCCI new hanbok collection. “More than 200 people participated in Hanbok Experience Contest,” Kimberly said.

On Tteokguk Contest, KCCI gave the participant the rice cake and a recipe to make tteokguk soup, and then they record how they make tteokguk in a video or photos. After that, they uploaded the video or photos in their SNS and is linked to KCCI’s SNS. This method also applies to Hanbok Experience Contest for judging and assessment by KCCI.




“By organizing these contest, KCCI want to introduce Korean Lunar New Year’s Day which is almost the same as Chinese New Year or Imlek, it’s only one day ahead, to Indonesian,” Kimberly said.

“And we also want to introduce many kind of Korean traditional cultures, besides K-pop,” Kimberly added.

Bibap Performance

At the same day of Chinese and Korea New Year’s Day, Lotte Shopping Avenue, a big mall in Jakarta also presented Bibap special performance from Korea. It consists of 8 actors featuring non-verbal comedy performance combined with beat-box music, accapella, dance, acrobat and martial arts.

“With this Bibap performance we eager to give special offers and special amusement to our customer in our shopping program with maximum benefit,” Senior Marketing Manager Lotte Shopping Avenue Anastasia Damastuti said.



With the increasing number of Korea events, I think there will be more and more people in my country familiar with Korea traditional cultures and Korea modern-art performances. Hallyu is still out there.

*this article also published at blog.korea.net