2019 CPI Orientation & Cultural Field Trip
2019 CPI Orientation & Cultural Field Trip
The 2019 CPI Orientation, which is the first official meeting where all participants meet each other, was held in Jeonju, from July 18 to 19.
Jeonju is well known for its wide range of Korean cultural experience programs including the famous Hanok Village (Korean traditional village).
This is why Jeonju had become the destination for this year.
On the first day, the participants enjoyed bibimbap, Jeonju’s representative local dish, and headed to the National Intangible Heritage Center for the welcome ceremony.
The welcome ceremony was held at the performance hall at the National Intangible Heritage Center.
It started with the welcoming speech by Mr. Kim Yongrak, the president of KOFICE, and the congratulatory speech from Mr. Huh Jinwoong, Deputy Director of the International Cultural Affairs Division of MCST, and the valedictory speech from Mr. Samwel Japhet Silas, a participant of the Seoul Section of the International Dance Council CID-UNESCO.
This year’s welcome ceremony was especially meaningful since the Korean traditional music performance was presented by local artists who collaborated with the CPI participants of Jeonju International Sori Festival in 2018.
After the ceremony, the participants saw the exhibition at the National Intangible Heritage Center with the guidance of PR Director Lee Cheol Kyu and visited the famous historical sight, the Jeonju Hanok Village. The village hosts over 10 million visitors annually, and participants had time to enjoy the beauty of traditional Korean architecture.
On the second day, the participants visited the Palbok Art Factory and Jeonju Hanbyuk Cultural Center, run by the Jeonju Cultural Foundation.
A cassette tape plant abandoned for 25 years, was newly remodeled into the Palbok Art Factory for artist residence and exhibition.
The participants showed great interest in the art factory and took many pictures.
The Jeonju Hanbyuk Cultural Center offered a traditional knot-making class for participants.
Everyone chose their favorite color for a knot with their desired alphabet initial and made an original work. It was a good time to learn about beautiful Korean traditional crafts.
As last program, we had a lunch with bean sprout gukbap (rice soup), which is another traditional dish of Jeonju.
Some participants really liked kimchi and kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi).
The two-day orientation and cultural field trip was a meaningful time for 2019 CPI participants. We hope that the training program would not only help the participants to develop their expertise in their professional fields but also learn about Korea more.
