The DMZ International Documentary Film Festival launched a full-scale publicity campaign with a bumper sticker event at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government complex on July 29. Event participants included Festival Chairman and Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-Soo, Festival Director Jo Jae-Hyun, and other festival managers.

 Jo Jae-Hyun, director of the festival, said, "The DMZ International Documentary Film Festival aims to expand the participation of local residents by reinforcing publicity in regional areas."

"Under the slogan of 'A Documentary Film Festival Shared by the Public' we will endeavor to create a vivid bright and lively festival by introducing youthful works of popular appeal," he added to explain the goal of the film festival, which marks its second year this year.

 The DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, which took its first step last year, successfully attracted domestic and overseas media attention to the DMZ by introducing documentaries with both entertaining and artistic qualities despite a relatively limited preparation period and modest budget. Additionally, during the first festival, the productions Yes Man Project and Border City Part 2 were introduced and soon afterwards released in commercial theaters, garnering considerable public attention.

The 2nd DMZ International Documentary Film Festival has increased the number of screenings through the invitation of 70 productions from 30 countries. In addition to the main theatre of Cinus Ichae, the Borimsa Theater has been opened for children and an outdoor theater has also been prepared for families. In this way, the festival caters to diverse audience and age groups.

  Moreover, to induce the active participation of Paju residents, the Paju Citizen's Card (a discount card) will be introduced. To further develop the festival as a multicultural event, diverse programs and discount systems will be operated in conjunction with the Pan Festival of Heyri Art Village and the Book Festival of Paju Book City.

Starting with the opening ceremony at the Gate of Reunification on September 9, the five-day odyssey of the 2nd DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, which takes place in and around Imjingak Pyeonghwa Nuri (World of Peace) and Paju Book City, will establish itself as a festival in which families can enjoy various sights and experiences.

DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, Official Poster Image

 For further information, please contact the Contents Promotion Department of the Gyeonggi Performance & Film Commission at 032-623-8057.

Paldal-gu will hold the ‘2010 Loving Family! Sharing Happiness! The 7th Paldal Seongan Festival’ on June 19 from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Suwon Hwaseong Haenggung Plaza. At a place representative of the filial love of King Jeongjo, festival participants can enjoy the atmosphere and culture of their ancestors.

With Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, a UNESCO world cultural heritage site, in the background, there will be exciting performances, including a small concert by Suwon Women’s University Band, and a special performance by popular entertainers.

At an exhibition entitled ‘Traveling to the Past! Cultural Experience of History,’ participants can appreciate the artwork imbued with the spirit of master craftsmen. This includes Sino Kim Jong-ok’s Dancheong (traditional multicolored paintwork on wooden buildings) and Changho Somokjang Kim Sun-gi’s Changho (windows and doors).

In addition, there will be interesting events such as entering the rice-bin of Crown Prince Sado in Suwon Hwaseong Palace, which is operated by the Suwon Hwaseong Management Foundation, as well as tightrope walking and a Talchum (masked dance) performance.   

Elementary school students should not miss the interesting and historically important opportunity to learn the true qualities of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, a UNESCO world cultural heritage site, provided by ‘Happy Tour to Meet the Hidden Treasures of Suwon Hwaseong.’ With a guide, students will tour Nangnamheon, Hwaryeongjeon, and other important attractions of Suwon Hwaseong Palace and the Suwon Hwaseong Museum.

Participants will also appreciate eleven unique programs like 3D craft puzzles, traditional bow/mask making, magic-hand making, perler beads craft, face painting, balloon art, magic bubble, and more during ‘Joyful Unique Experience Hanmadang’.

At the ‘Sharing Happiness Market’ of the ‘Paldal Sharing Happiness and Love’ event, visitors can buy food, books, and household items at reasonable prices and learn about the real life of past generations at an antique flea market.

For more information, please call at 228-7225 or 7223.

Source - http://eng.suwon.ne.kr

A Pungmul Daedongnori Performance will be held at Jangan Park in Jangan-gu, Suwon, on June 19^th at 3 p.m. (Pungmul is Korean traditional percussion music mixed with dynamic performance.)

The event will be hosted by the Suwon branch of the Korean People's Artists Federation (SKPAF), held under the supervision of ‘Pungmul-gutpae Sarmter’ (leader: Lee, Seong Ho) of SKPAF’s Pungmul-gut Committee, and sponsored by Suwon City and the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation. The purpose of the Pungmul Daedongnori Performance is to revive the spirit of Pungmul, which is fading away under the development of urban civilization.

Over one hundred Pungmul performers from ten groups in Suwon and neighboring communities will participate in this event. They include Pungmul-gutpae Sarmter, the Samulnori (Korean traditional percussion quartet) class of the Suwon Cultural Center, the Research Society of Korean Culture, and the Pungmulpae of Worker’s League.

The gut-pan performance will start with ‘Gil-gut’, followed by ‘Dangsan-gut,’ ‘Pungmulpan-gut,’ ‘Utdari-Samulnori,’ ‘Binari,’ ‘Taepyeongso ensemble,’ ’Seoljanggu,’ and ‘Nalmoebukchum.’ The final part of the performance will include ‘Gilssamnori’ with the audience, ‘Ganggangsulae’ and ‘Daedongnori’.

As a city of tradition and culture, the tradition of ‘Jaeincheong’ (an institution which trains musicians for court dance and music and controls the details of gut-pan) still endures in Suwon, and there are a great number of Pungmulpae in this area. However, it is difficult for those Pungmul groups to gather together for performances.

One member of the Suwon branch of the Korean People's Artists Federation said,“This Daedongnori performance is like a feast for many Pungmul performing groups since they can gather together to show off their talent, encourage each other, and promote unity.”

For more information, please call 228-3472

Source - http://eng.suwon.ne.kr

The 4^th Suwon Stream Tulip Festival, held from April 16 to 18, ended as a great success. Held by Gwonseon-gu, the Suwon Stream Tulip Festival is one of the most famous spring blossom festivals of Suwon City.

 For the festival, a 3.9km-long tulip garden (from Seryu Bridge to the Maegyo Crossroads) was constructed under the themes of Visions, memories, dreams, butterflies and wind. The garden was divided into a main flower bed, a flower garden, a pinwheel area and more to attract visitors. Of particular note, the colorful tulip garden drew favorable comments from visitors.

 Along Suwon Stream, thirty booths were installed for visitors who wanted to experience the spring season. Booths featuring balloon art, bubble experiences, rice-cake mallets, face painting and other activities were filled with children.

 The environment-friendly experience booth and the used-product sales booth (Gwonseon Store of Love) also attracted many visitors. The raft-experience booth, making its first appearance in the festival, was favored by families with children, creating long queues.

 An official of the Gwonseon-gu office commented, “Due to the ROKS Cheonan tragedy, all stage events were cancelled, and the festival opened modestly with flowerbeds and experience booths only. Nonetheless, the festival ended successfully under a peaceful atmosphere. Most visitors understood the cancellation of stage events and expressed condolences for the Cheonan victims.”

From April 16^th to 18^th, the 4^th Suwon Stream Tulip Festival will be held along the Suwon Stream fromSeryu Grand Bridge to Maegyo Junction.

The Suwon Stream Tulip Festival is now in its fourth year.  As in previous years, the festival will focus on spring tulips with five gardens themed on the concepts of welcome, memories, dreams, butterflies, and wind; the gardens will offer 30 different experiential and stage events including a celebratory concert, tulip socializing event, tulip singing contest, and more.

The “beautiful tulip” theme group already planted over 16,000 tulips last November, and plans to complete theme-garden creation before the event dates in April.

In the themed flower gardens, 30 zones such as topiary, photography, lamps, flower vessels, windmills and more with 1,266 fixtures will be installed while some 22,000 additional flowers of 20 varieties including geraniums are scheduled to be planted.

For the ultimate tulip experience of visitors, each zone of the tulip-themed flower gardens along the Suwon Stream will be well equipped.

♤ Welcome Garden (Seryu Grand Bridge to Budnae Bridge): A garden to welcome visitors to the event with a flower tower, flower vessels and white tiger topiary installed.

♤ Memory Garden (Budnae Bridge to Budeul Bridge): A garden to evoke memories from days gone by with flower carts and flower racks as well as a log-raft experience.

♤ Dream Garden (Budeul Bridge ~ Yucheon 2^nd Bridge): A garden to foster children’s dreams of fairy tales and imaginary worlds with topiary such as pandas, bears, monkeys, leopards, and more.

♤ Butterfly Garden (Yucheon 2^nd Bridge to Yucheon Bridge): A butterfly-themed garden with, butterfly monuments, butterfly gardens, and fish monuments.

♤ Wind Garden (Yucheon Bridge to Secheon Bridge): A garden with the theme of wind blowing towards the Suwon Stream that features a wall of windmills and 3D windmills.

In addition to the flower gardens, facilities incorporating Suwon Stream’s uncontaminated, clean water will be installed for an eco-friendly experience.

Two raft-experience facilities will also be installed for the enjoyment of children, and a small wooden vessel welcoming visitors will float on the Suwon Stream.

From 6pm on Day 1 (April 16^th), the event will offer traditional dancing and singing performances by the Suwon Chorus as pre-opening events, followed by the opening ceremony and celebratory concerts.

From 7pm on Day 2 (April 17^th), the main event will kick off with mini-performances by folk singers and more. The tulip-socializing event will include a variety of stage performances such as performances by dancing club members, Nanta, and much more as well as programs presented by a local resident services center.

On Day 3 (April 18^th), the Tulip Singing Contest, which includes a singing competition for residents of Gwonseon-gu and performances by invited singers, will be held.

As many as 30 kinds of experience programs will be staged in the tulip flower gardens along the Suwon Stream and will be open to all visitors regardless of age.

The Children Drawing Contest will be held from 2 to 4pm on April 18^th (Wednesday), and other experience events will be available at booths set up along the Suwon Stream on April 17^th and 18^th.

An eco-friendly booth and green growth promotion center where visitors can experience green growth and environment friendly concepts will be operated. Also, the moving market of Gwonseon-gu and a book distribution center will be set up to promote recycling.

An event to plant flowers unique to Korea for promoting awareness of indigenous flowers will take place. Various events such as bubble play, face painting, balloon arts and more will also be held for children, and traditional events such as traditional rice-cake making and a traditional tea experience will be available to foster memories of former times.

Other features include family motto writing, the Suwon Hwaseong Promotion Center, caricature programs, and much more.

For companies located in the area, four promotion booths will serve as focal and supporting points.

The Tulip Event will promote military-government-public solidarity through event sites at the Suwon Stream in tandem with the 4^th ACE-10 Festival by the 10^th Fighting Flight Group.

On April 17^th, a dandelion-collecting event and sports competition will be held, and the 32^nd Air Force Chief Miniature Flight Competition, interactive flight displays, and exhibits of historic Korean War items will run on April 18^th.

The Gwonseon-gu Office and the flight group will contribute to improving relationships in regional society by cooperating on the initiation of diverse events for community members.