> Celebrated the Year of the Black Rabbit with traditional Korean food and culture
> KSI Istanbul visited by crews from NTV and covered all over Türkiye

KSI Istanbul organized a Lunar New Year event in Istanbul, Türkiye to celebrate the biggest Korean holiday.

The event was packed with activities for students and their families, including learning about the meaning of the Lunar New Year, gayageum and violin performance including “Arirang Alone” to celebrate the Lunar New Year, learning Lunar New Year songs and how to bow, playing Touhou, making dumplings, and cooking tteokmandukguk - rice cake dumpling soup. The event received so much attention that it was featured on NTV, a local news media in Türkiye.

The students learned about the Year of the Black Rabbit, enjoyed the celebration, and showed interest in the gayageum, a traditional Korean musical instrument they had never seen before. Dressed in their finest hanboks, they even bowed in appreciation, saying "Happy New Year" in Korean to their teachers.

The teachers helped the students experience the Lunar New Year culture by giving them words of blessing, playing Touhou with them, and sharing tteokmandukguk. They said it was a rewarding day, seeing the students laughing and enjoying themselves.

The NTV news crews were also intrigued by Korea's biggest holiday and interviewed Jung Eun-kyung, President of KSI Istanbul, and Elif Ulakz, a student who participated in the event.

"Lunar New Year is the first day of the new year, and it has great significance as a day that signals a new beginning," said Jung in an interview. “Korea is a country that is far away in terms of distance, but close in terms of sharing respect and help," said Elif Ulakz, wishing everyone a happy new year.

The news and interviews were broadcast on January 21 during NTV's 8 p.m. news and introduced across Türkiye.

President Jung Eun-kyung being interviewed by an NTV news reporter

Students of KSI Istanbul cooking rice cake dumpling soup together

Students of KSI Istanbul playing traditional Korean games

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