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French Ambassador Philippe Lefort demonstrates his taekwondo moves during CCF 2023, held at the French ambassador's residence in Seoul, Tuesday. (CICI) |
Culture Communication Forum 2023 offered a place of communication and exchange, where participants were able to reveal their "hidden talents."
The forum hosted by the Corea Image Communication Institute took place Tuesday evening at the French ambassador's residence in Seodaemun-gu, western Seoul.
Six people, including a number of ambassadors to Korea, gave special performances to rounds of enthusiastic applause from the audience.
French Ambassador Philippe Lefort surprised the audience with his powerful demonstration of taekwondo, showing his top three favorite "poomsae" or series of forms: Taegeuk 7, Taegeuk 8 and Geumgang. Lefort, a second-degree black belt holder, said he began training when he brought his son to a "dojang," a gym where taekwondo is practiced.
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German Ambassador Michael Reiffenstuel plays the piano during CCF 2023, held at the French ambassador's residence, Tuesday. (CICI) |
German Ambassador Michael Reiffenstuel played in a piano and flute ensemble with Eugene Bang, chairman of media company Millenasia. The duo performed Chopin's "Nocturne No. 20 in C Sharp Minor."
Reiffenstuel said he finds the time to play for a couple of minutes in the late evenings. Chairman Bang said he started learning flute because he could not sing as well as the other kids in school, but he still liked music.
French-born pansori singer Laure Mafo performed a pansori piece from the "Heungboga" in French and in Korean, with the accompaniment of drummer Lee Bum-hee. Mafo met pansori singer Min Hye-sung in France and started singing pansori, eventually coming to Korea to learn pansori. She is currently under the tutelage of Min.
Finally, magician Ed Kwon demonstrated a mind-reading performance.
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(From left) French Ambassador Philippe Lefort, CICI President Choi Jung-wha, pansori singer Laure Mafo, Chairman Eugene Bang of Millenasia, magician Ed Kwon and German Ambassador Michael Reiffenstuel pose for a group photo after the award ceremony during CCF 2023, held at the French ambassador's residence, Tuesday. (CICI) |
CICI President Choi Jung-wha said, "CCF 2023 comes with a new look in celebration of the 20th anniversary of CICI, under the theme of 'Hidden Talent.'"
"Everybody has talent. It's just a matter of moving around until you've discovered what it is."
The forum also featured the ChatGPT Question Competition, held from May 4 to May 26, which was organized to explore how the chatbot perceives Korea and what answers it can provide to foreign nationals seeking knowledge about Korea.
Attendees cast their vote for one of seven finalists who used the chatbot to provide interesting answers in four categories: famous Korean places, Hallyu culture, Korean food and unique Korean experiences.
The Grand Award went to Hwang Young-seok, a student who asked the chatbot to give five best tourist destinations and categorize them into seven subcategories, including by their name, location, a brief description of each place and rating on Google.
