35,000 join Korean celebration
| • | Special report: 100 Years of Dreams, Accomplishments |
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
Capping off a weeklong Korean centennial celebration, a crowd estimated at 35,000 flocked to Kapi'olani Park yesterday for the second annual Korean Festival and a day of colorful dress, lively music, dancing and singing, with a sampling of food and Asian customs.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
Event co-chairman Andre Lee called last year's festival a dress rehearsal for the centennial festival. And although the festival and the crowd were larger than last year's, the festivities were easier to manage, thanks mainly to the technical assistance of Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris and his staff, Lee said.
Members of the Myungwoodan group prepare to perform at the second annual Korean Festival at Kapi'olani Park. About 35,000 people attended yesterday's final event of the weeklong Korean centennial festivities.
This year the festival had twice as many volunteers and more than six times as many food concessions. Among the hottest souvenirs were gold and silver Korean Centennial coins, as well as a book and video documentary about Korean immigrants.
"This is the last and biggest event in the anniversary week," said Lee. "The support from the community for this has been overwhelming. We're hoping that, because of the success of this ... it will become an annual event."
Lee said 100 people representing five dance groups from South Korea came to perform. Five times that number have asked to perform next year, said Lee. The only way to accommodate them would be to hold a two-day event, he added.
"This is an opportunity for more second- and third-generation Koreans here to understand their background and immigrant heritage," said Hyoncha Koga, principal of the 'Aiea Korean Culture School.
She joyfully noted that because of the centennial celebration and festival, Koreans and non-Koreans are becoming acquainted with the culture and history of America's first Korean immigrants who arrived in Honolulu on Jan. 13, 1903.
Other events commemorating the centennial will be held through the year.
