Culture

Promoting Local Cultural Networking through Art Festival Exchange

Gaecheon Art Festival of South Korea to participate in Carnival of Cultures Berlin 2019

June 04th, 2019
Inho Kim, News from Berlin
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The city of Jinju in South Korea has announced their official participation in Carnival of Cultures Berlin from June 7 -10, 2019 with its representation of a Korean local festival entitled “Gaecheon Art Festival.”

Carnival of Cultures Berlin originally started in the 1990s as a cultural countermeasure against remaining xenophobia and discrimination against immigrants and minorities after the unification of Germany. Therefore, it has served as a public sphere that allows people in Berlin to reconfirm the value of a multicultural society and its inclusiveness; thereby, leading to cultural reconciliation and harmony between different cultural backgrounds. It is not merely a festival to enjoy, but a local ceremony where socio-cultural messages are delivered.

Up to now, Korean residents along with the Korean Culture Association in Berlin has also annually participated in the street parade. Last year, supported by the Korean Cultural Center in Germany, more than 150 residents participated under the name “Love Korea.” A Korean traditional percussion quartet team, students and their parents of the Korean language school in Berlin all took part in the parade.

Given that the nature of the Carnival was a celebration embracing the cultural diversity of Berlin, the participation of Gaecheon Art Festival has a peculiar significance showing a new possibility of viewing the Carnival as a platform of cultural diplomacy through exchanges of local arts festivals. For the Gaecheon Art Festival, this event will surely be an opportunity to grow into a local festival, while for the Berlin Carnival, this represents a chance to spread their value of cultural diversity and inclusion around the world.

This year, the Jinju-palace marching band–a leading team of the parade in Gaecheon Art Festival–will be officially participating in the Carnival of Cultures. During the Carnival period, they will also hold a workshop in Berlin to promote their local traditional culture and arts, and present exchange performances to develop Korean-Germany cultural relations.

As stated, the Carnival will be held from June 7-10, with the main parade happening on Sunday, June 9.

References:

News from Berlin