Gaecheonjeol or the National Foundation Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Korea celebrated on the 3rd of October as the date when the first Korean state of Gojoseon was founded in 2333 BCE. In Korea, many events and festivals are held on this day, including performing ancestral rites. But how do Koreans residing in Romania celebrate it?
H.E. Kap-soo Rim, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Romania held a Reception on the occasion of the National Foundation Day of the Republic of Korea on October 2nd at the Bucharest National Opera. The Reception summarized the results obtained in terms of diplomacy, economy and cultural friendship during the last 15 years of strategic partnership between Romania and Korea. The event was organized with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Romania, the Bucharest National Opera and the Korea Foundation.
Over 700 people, from government officials, members of the Parliament and the National Army to diplomats and members of the Korean communities in Romania, were delighted by the wonderful traditional Korean music, delicious food and the latest developments in technology. Being a part of the Korean entertainment background in Romania, Samulnori group Pureun Narae was also invited as an official guest.
The event began at 18:00 after every guest shook hands with H.E. Kap-soo Rim, his family and other Korean officials. The first part of the evening was dedicated to the interpreting of the Korean and Romanian National Anthems by the ADG7 (Ak Dan Gwang Chil) Korean group and the speeches of the ministers, the state secretary and ambassadors. H.E. Kap-soo Rim presented the evolution of the strategic partnership between Korea and Romania in the past year. H.E. talked about The Seoul Summit and the meeting between the Presidents of Romania and Korea, Klaus Iohannis and Yoon Seok-youl, in April 2024, for adopting The Joint Statement, a strategic partnership for the next 15 years. Also this year, Korea’s Hydro & Nuclear Power Corporation (KHNP) started the construction of the first European tritium removal facility at the nuclear power plant in Cernavoda, Romania. Besides these strategic and economic accomplishments, H.E. was very happy about the friendship between our countries and is determined to make the two nations best friends. Motivational speeches were also given by Senator Roberta Anastase, the Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja and the Secretary of State for Global Affairs Traian Hristea.
The second part of the event was the musical performance of ADG7 which came especially from Korea. ADG7 is a fusion group formed in 2015 that features Korean traditional shamanic ritual music and pansori, folk and trot songs and contemporary pop and hip-hop beats. ADG7 was awarded the Best Group at the 2018 KBS Korean Traditional Music Award and the Sori Frontier Award at the 2017 Jeonju International Sori Festival.
With catchphrases such as “When our life is tough, music and rhythm can give us energy” or “Liberating songs of comfort, freedom and escape”, ADG7 mesmerized the audience with vibrant beats, thoughtful jokes, energetic dances and traditional-contemporary switches of rhythms. With vast musical experience, Hong Ok, Yoo Wol and Yeon Hong (vocal), Kim Yak Dae (daegeum), Won Meon Dong Maru (gayageum), Chun Gung Dal and Sunwoo Barabarabarabam (percussion), Lee Man Wol (piri and saenghwang) and Choi Byung Hwal (ajaeng) transposed our souls from the childish rhythm, such in “Whatever” melody, to the intense beat expressing the weight of life and death of the melody “No end, no limit”. Even now when I am writing this article I keep listening to ADG7’s music and I can feel every sound reverberating through my skin. For me, this group was an astonishing discovery that happened in a painful period in my life and their song “Hello, lonely” will be forever in my heart.
A big surprise for the audience was playing the “Waves of the Danube”, a classical piece written by the Romanian composer Josif Ivanovici. Everyone in the room stood up and applauded frantically. At the end of the concert, the group received flowers and thanked us for being such a great audience.
A gorgeous buffet awaited us full of delicious Korean food: kimbap, japchae, mandu, bulgogi, kimchi, sweet and spicy chicken, yaksik and cakes. Of course, the bubbling champagne was not missing. We ended the night in a festive atmosphere and had fun with close friends.
Until the next Korean celebration in Romania, we remained with the unforgettable memories of a great evening in a cozy place.
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