K-Intangible Heritage Festival to kick off Thursday

The National Intangible Heritage Center in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, is holding the K-Intangible Heritage Festival from Thursday to Saturday.

Under the theme of “Re:Heritage Connect,” the inaugural festival will offer one-day classes for foreigners living in Korea to learn and experience intangible heritages of Korea.

Performances of “Daechwita,” a genre of traditional Korean music that was performed at parades of kings and other military ceremonies, and Korean traditional mask dance drama “Bongsan Talchum” will take place during the festival. These intangible heritages recently received global attention when K-pop boy band BTS created music and dance inspired by them.

Korean traditional music concert by performers from different countries, including US-born gayageum player Jocelyn Clark, as well as performers from Cameroon and Mexico will be held during the festival.

At 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Seodo band which performs music that has both Korean traditional and Western pop music elements and Uheeska, a team that presents music that has a mixture of two genres-- Korean traditional music gugak and ska from Jamaica, will take to the stage.

Under strict quarantine guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19, all visitors must go through temperature checks, sanitize their hands, wear masks and provide personal information before entering the venue. Also, everyone must make online reservations in advance.

For more information, visit the National Intangible Heritage Center’s website at www.nihc.go.kr/. Admission is free of charge

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)