KSI Adelaide Hosts Korean Culture Festival
with Local Residents

> Co-hosted with the Korean Cultural Center Australia, with over 150 participants including KSI learners and local residents

> A variety of Korean cultural programs were held, including K-pop dance workshops, makgeolli tasting sessions, and experiences with hanbok and traditional crafts

On March 29, the Adelaide Korean Culture Festival was held at the University of South Australia in Adelaide, South Australia, jointly organized by the Korean Cultural Center Australia and KSI Adelaide. This event held special significance as it provided a rare opportunity for Korean cultural experiences in the South Australia region. Alongside KSI Adelaide learners, many local residents also took part in the festival and enjoyed the various programs on offer.

The festival featured three main events. First, dancer Jaea was invited from Korea to lead a K-pop Choreography Workshop using the songs “Attitude” by K-pop group IVE and “Earthquake” by BLACKPINK’s Jisoo. With around 70 participants, this workshop was the largest program of the festival. Participants had the opportunity to enjoy Korean pop music more intimately while dancing together.

In addition, a Korean Makgeolli Tasting and Korean Cuisine Pairing Experience was held, led by Chef Lee Chung-jae, who operates a Korean restaurant in Adelaide. After a brief lecture on the traditional Korean liquor makgeolli, participants enjoyed various Korean dishes and experienced the harmony between makgeolli and Korean food. Local residents in particular showed great interest in the new combination of makgeolli and Korean cuisine, gaining a fresh taste of Korea’s traditional alcoholic beverage and the culture behind it.
 
 

Chef Lee Chung-jae (first from the right) with participants making Ojingeo Chomuchim (Spicy Squid Salad) Participants tasting makgeolli

Led by local instructor Hong Sung-hyun of KSI Adelaide, a variety of craft programs were offered including a “Hanbok Experience and Photo Session,” “Traditional Lantern Making with Hanji,” and “Traditional Patterned Ttakji Folding.” These programs received an enthusiastic response from participants. While the hanbok experience had previously been offered only on a small scale for KSI Adelaide learners, this was the first time it was opened to local residents as well. Those who were trying on hanbok for the first time expressed great interest in its beauty and enjoyed taking photos at the photo wall.
 
 

Participants dressed in hanbok take photos Participants taking part in the traditional lantern-making activity

Over 150 participants, including KSI learners and local residents, attended the Adelaide Korean Culture Festival. They shared positive feedback, saying, “We hope another Korean culture event is held in Adelaide in the future. It was great to experience Korean culture firsthand. We’d love to see more K-pop dance workshops.”

Lim Ji-hyae, an administrative staff member at KSI Adelaide who planned and managed the event, commented, “It’s been seven years since I started working at the institute, but this was the first time we hosted such a large-scale collaboration with three different events happening on the same day. It was incredibly fun and exciting to plan and prepare for the festival. I was especially happy to see so many people—beyond just our learners—enjoying the craft and hanbok workshops together with our local and dispatched instructors. I also realized the importance of continued promotion so that more local residents, in addition to KSI learners, can take part in the future.”
 
 

Adelaide is home to residents from a wide range of backgrounds including international students, immigrants, and native Australians, and serves as a key cultural hub for promoting Korean culture in the relatively low-populated South Australia region. While KSI Adelaide’s past events focused mainly on learners, this year’s collaboration with the Korean Cultural Center Australia enabled broader publicity efforts, allowing for a larger-scale event. It provided an excellent opportunity to promote Korean culture, KSI Adelaide, and the Korean Cultural Center Australia not only to learners but to the general public as well, leading to a high level of participant satisfaction.

People come to KSI Adelaide for many reasons. Although the area’s low population density makes transportation and offline classes somewhat challenging, KSI Adelaide continues to recruit learners and host events in its ongoing efforts to promote Korean language and culture in South Australia. Moving forward, KSI Adelaide plans to continue offering well-organized programs by selecting events and language courses that meet local demand and attract public interest.

Article by Kang Hye-hweon, correspondent at KSI