KSI Caracol, Haiti

Hand-made Paper Carnations

KSI Caracol, Haiti held a carnation making workshop on May 8th and 15th to commemorate Parents’ Day and Teacher’s Day respectively. About 200 students participated in the two-day class. Yoojin Kang, the instructor of the workshop, presented the meaning of carnation and how to fold a carnation with a piece of colored paper. The students, who were doing origami for the first time, struggled and exceeded the scheduled class time. However, they were quite impressed to see the outcome of their paper carnation, according to Kang.

After the workshop, the students returned to their parents and said “Thank you” and “I love you” in Korean and gave them paper carnations. The effect of the carnation gift was very positive and some parents even thanked Kang. She said, “A student who attended a carnation-making workshop on May 8th handed me a paper carnation that he made on May 15th on the occasion of Teacher’s Day.” She also added, “I was really touched that he had kept the flower for a week just to give it to me.”

▲ On May 8th, students of KSI Caracol show off their hand-made paper carnations that they made for their parents.

▲ To celebrate Teacher’s Day, students of KSI Caracol invited their teachers from primary schools and expressed their gratitude.

KSI Jakarta, Indonesia

“Thank you to Korean Teachers!” Carnation Letters from Indonesian Students

To commemorate Teacher’s Day, KSI Jakarta, Indonesia hosted an event to make a carnation letter on May 9th~11th. About 65 KSI students and general public participated in the three-day event. The students who made origami carnation letters wrote thank you notes to their Korean teachers. On the Teacher’s Day, the students delivered the carnation letters to their teachers and expressed their gratitude.

Miptahul Haira, a participant said, “There is no KSI in Padang, West Sumatra where I live, so I flew two hours to participate in this event.” “I really enjoyed making a carnation letter, and I wish we had KSI where I live,” he said. Yihyeon Jin, who planned the event said, “We will continue to hold various cultural events to contribute to cultural exchanges between Korea and Indonesia.”

▲ Participants of May 10th event with their hand-made carnation letters

▲ Participants of May 11th event with their hand-made carnation letters

KSI Bogota, Colombia

We Showed off Samulnori in front of Prime Minister Nakyeon Lee!

As Prime Minister Nakyeon Lee visited Colombia, a dinner meeting was held at Marriott Hotel Bogota on May 4th, inviting Korean residents and business representatives. On this day, Prime Minister Nakyeon Lee, South Korean Ambassador to Colombia Doosik Kim, head of KSI Bogota Samil Yang and 60 Korean residents and businessmen attended the event. Notably, Prime Minister gave the book of <33 Represenative leaders of Korea (written by Woonhyeon Jeong, Chief Secretary)> as a gift to head of KSI Bogota, Samil Yang, who is a descendant of independence fighter, Jigang Hanmook Yang.

The highlight of the event was a Samulnori performance by KSI Bogota students. Professor Wonmin Kim of Korea National University of Arts, three Samulnori experts and six KSI students played Korean folk song, ‘Arirang,’ and Colombian folk song, ‘Tierra Querida’. Prime Minister Lee was very pleased with the performance and shared words of encouragement to the performers right after the concert. Six students who performed on the day had a special affection for Samulnori, as they had been part of Samulnori club as their afterschool activity in 2016. In last May, they attended a Samulnori class conducted at Sejong Culture Academy by Korean traditional music experts from Korea National University of Art, and they were able to improve their skills even further. “We will continue to run various cultural programs at the institute and make KSI Bogota a center of New Korean Wave in Colombia,” said Samil Yang, head of KSI Bogota.

▲ May 4th Prime Minister Nakyeon Lee (middle) and KSI Bogota Samulnori team

▲ May 4th participants of Salmunori class at Sejong Culture Academy

KSI Xian, China

First Graduates! “We’ve Completed All 8 Sejong Korean Textbooks.”

The first graduates of KSI Xian are born. Students have completed all courses with the textbooks from Sejong Korean 1 to 8. They are Jeonkeun, Juan, Xinan Hak, Jocheon, Wonseo Lee and Acheong Gok. They have studied Korean at KSI Xian from 2015 and within four years they completed eight books of Sejong Korean on May 18th, 2019. To commemorate this, six graduates have planned to travel from Seoul to Busan from June 6th until 9th, and even purchased plane tickets.

On May 8th, six graduates shared their thoughts in the last class. Jocheon said, “As the river meets the sea, I believe that we will meet again in another Korean class.” Wonseo Lee, who used to spend three hours of commuting to attend the classes, said, “I feel sad than relieved to graduate from the institute.” He also said, “I will definitely take a class if an advanced Korean class opens up next semester.” Teacher Yeonkyung Kim of the six graduate students said, “I applaud them that they have learned Korean for over four years and KSI Xian will continue to support them to study Korean further.”