The "2014 Consonance Festival for the Peaceful Unification of Korea" was held on July 19 at KBS 88 Sports World Gymnasium in Seoul, Korea and attended by members of the Seoul Assembly of the National Unification Advisory Council (NUAC) and North Korean refugees.
A total of 638 persons including 268 North Korean refugees and their mentors and Council members enjoyed the festival with Park Chan-bong, Secretary General of NUAC, Lee Jung-geun, Vice-chairperson of Seoul Assembly, and Lim Kyeong-ha, secretary of the Seoul Municipal Chapter.
In particular, many of the North Korean refugees participated in the festival with their family members. The festival featured foot volleyball, dodgeball, tug-of-war, and running, which the North Korean refugees can play easily. The participants also enjoyed North Korean songs and dance performance and cooked North Korean food themselves at the festival for the visitors.
"Meaningful events while the preparation for national unification is active including launching the Preparatory Committee for National Unification"
Park Chan-bong, Secretary General of NUAC, noted in his welcoming speech that holding the Consonance Festival with North Korean refugees is meaningful while preparation for national unification is active, including launching the Preparatory Committee for National Unification. “I hope that this Festival will be a valuable opportunity to meet the North Korean refugees, and that the council members could be unified in thought," he added.
According to Lee Jung-geun, Vice-chairperson of the Seoul Assembly, the Consonance Festival for the Peaceful Unification of Korea is a meaningful opportunity wherein North Korean refugees and NUAC members can communicate and harmonize with each other. He believes such occasion could expand hopes for national unification as well as the future of the Korean peninsula and lower the barrier to the unification.
Council members Cheoung Seung-hwa and Kim Seol-hyang took the athlete's oath on behalf of the participants. All of them came up to the stage and did funny gymnastics in step with the cheerleaders.
The Festival consisted of Open Mind Session and Harmony Session. In particular, the Open Mind Session included an athletic meet to play dodge ball, foot volleyball, unification Olympics, tug-of-war, and relay running. The Harmony Session featured performances by “Fanta Rock,” a lady percussion group, Pompom cheerleading team’s K-Pop dance performance, pop singer Kang Soo-bin, Baekdu and Halla Artist Group, and Milky Way, electric string performance group. Gift coupons and lucky draws added to the excitement while the stage performances were underway.
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Open Mind Session" by North Korean Refugees and NUAC Members
The athlete's meet for the "Open Mind Session" was a competition wherein the participants were divided into two groups: the Peace Team and the Unification Team. Peace Team players are from the following districts of Seoul: Jongno-gu, Jung-gu, Yongsan-gu, Seongdong-gu, Gwangjin-gu, Dongdaemun-gu, Jungnang-gu, Seongbuk-gu, Gangbuk-gu, Dobong-gu, Nowon-gu, Eunpyeong-gu, Seodaemun-gu, and Mapo-gu. Those of the Unification Team are from the districts of Yangcheon-gu, Gangseo-gu, Guro-gu, Geumcheon-gu, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Dongjak-gu, Gwanak-gu, Seocho-gu, Gangnam-gu, Songpa-gu, and Gangdong-gu. Shin Yong-ju presided over the events.
The first sports event was dodge ball, with 40 women players from each team competing. Hitting and avoiding the balls were punctuated with laughs and applause.
Foot volleyball was for the men, and 5 players formed a team. Before the match started, The Juyoung Sports Group demonstrated the game. Players and their cheering squad with yellow-green, yellow, orange, blue, and white uniforms supported their players with cheerleaders and drums and gongs.
The next event was the so-called "Unification Olympics." A big ball was rolled over the people with the hands to and from both ends of the lines twice. Two yellow and blue balls rolling provided real fun to the participants.
The tug-of-war was a real war between the two excited groups of 30 men and 10 women. The Peace Team, which was defeated by the Unification Team in the "Unification Olympics," won.
The final sports event was relay running. Each team of 5 men and 5 women played, with the running speed of the Unification Team organized by the North Korean refugees surprising everybody.
Performance by South and North Korea; "Harmony" of traditional and contemporary performances
Harmony of performance was found in the traditional and modern cultures of South and North Korea. Fancy stage performance and laser lights were enough for the participants to enjoy the night of harmony.
While the participants were enjoying the performance, leaders of the Youth Committee in the Seoul area cleaned food wastes voluntarily. The young leaders, wearing blue uniform, helped ensure that the events proceeded satisfactorily under the guidance of Oh Hong-suk, chairman of the Youth Committee in the Seoul area.
The Pompom Cheerleading Team presented K-Pop dance and music to the participants, who were drawn to the graceful moves of the dancers and their red stage costume.
The North Korean refugees also held their talent shows. Lee Seong-min, who is now living in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, sung a famous North Korean pop song, "Whistle." On the other hand, one young refugee who is now the student body president of a high school in Seoul played the accordion.
Invited singer Kang Soo-bin sang her well-known songs to the participants. The Baekdu and Halla Arts Group played traditional drum dance and North Korean dance music called Water Jar Dance with the unique dance steps of North Korea. They also sang North Korean pop songs that were also known to South Koreans. Baekdu is the name of the tallest mountain in North Korea, while Halla is the tallest in South Korea. Together, they represent North and South Korea.
The festival proved to be a lot of fun to the children as well. They enjoyed making an ocarina and practicing tattoo themselves.
The final event of the festival was the award ceremony and lucky draw. The winner of the sports event was the Unification Team, with the Peace Team as the runner-up. The festival was concluded with the participants singing Our Wish is Unification.