On September 19, 2025, Korean Cultural Centre Nigeria (KCCN) hosts K-heritage festival at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos. K-heritage festival is not an event for just entertainment, it is an event for fostering cultural understanding between Korea and Nigeria, giving Nigerians the opportunity to experience authentic and undiluted Korean traditions while also showcasing the shared love for cultural expressions. The K-heritage festival most anticipated highlights was the presence of guest performers from korea, Owndo and Samulnori E-seo.
Owndo consist of Kim Ahyoung(vocal), Choi Jiwoo(keyboard)and Ha Dongmin(daegeum), Owndo is a band that blends korean traditional and Western music to create a profound resonance. Owndo gained Public attention as a top8 finalist on Channel A's (Vocal Play) and a top6 finalist on JTBC’s (Poongryu: Battle Between the Vocalists). They also received the encouragement award at MBC’s (Riverside Song Festival -New Challenge) continuing their journey with music full of their unique emotions. Samulnori E-Seo is a traditional performing arts ensemble of Wi Yeonseung, Moon Doyeon, Park Hyunki and Jun Seunghun. Samulnori E-seo has performed internationally in the UK, Austria, New Zealand, Singapore and beyond and now Nigeria, sharing vitality of Korean traditional music wth global audiences. By preserving tradition while. embracing contemporary creativity, Samulnori E-Seo brings heritage to life as a vibrant, living art form.
The K-heritage festival had display of Hanbok which is Korean traditional cloth for attendees to try on and have the feel of Korean. Korean event with Korean food is always the best part, Korean food like Kimchi, Yanggeang and bujujoen alongside Nigerian food like smallchops, sandwich, chicken and snails. The K-heritage festival started with dance performance from B-Star dance group, they were the winners of K-pop dance competition organized by KCCN in 2024 followed by a Taekwondo performance by KCCN Taekwondo team. The Korean and Nigerian National anthems was done and an opening speech by the Consul General Lee Sang-ho of the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Lagos speaking on the deepening Nigeria–Korea partnership and also the Lagos State Governor representative, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka, Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, addressing the audience on Nigeria–Korea collaboration. The most anticipated performance started with Samulnori E-Seo introducing their group and explaining the meaning behind the name of the group and they started off by performing their first song which was ‘Mungut and Gil-nori’ after which the moved to ‘Binari’ which means ‘prayer’, they told people from the audience to come and say a prayer at the Charye table on the podium and they also said few words of prayer for the audience as they performed ‘Binari’ followed by the last song which was ‘Samdo Nongak Garak’. One thing the audience specifically loved was the depth of the drums, it felt new and really captivating.
Owndo performance started with ‘Great Korea is Alive’, this performance left the audience in awe with the strong vocal accompanied by the Daegeum (a traditional Korean flute), then they performed a very popular Red Velvet song ‘Peek-A-Boo’ which was sang in a very different way from what we have heard before. They also performed 2PM’s ‘My House’, their original song ‘Forest’ and ‘The Wave’. One of their most memorable performance for me was ‘Holo Arirang’, i remember falling deeply in love with the song back in 2016/2017 most especially with its deep meaning and strong vocals of the singer, it brought back beautiful memories that made me understand the essence of Korean beautiful tradition. Owndo also performed the hit song from the popular K-Pop Demon Hunters ‘Golden’ which left audience in high spirit while singing along. The most beautiful and captivating encore stage began with Owndo serenading the audience with melodious vocals then Samulnori E-Seo joined with strong drum beats and dance performance which left the audience extremely hyped. The best part was when the audience joined them on stage to dance and drum to end the beautiful event.
The event ended with the host giving a brief appreciation and pictures were taken with Owndo, Samulnori E-Seo, KCCN director and representative and also Nigerian dignitaries present.
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