The “Korea-Russia Culture Festival” was held in Vladivostok to establish friendship between Korea and Russia and to share the vision of peace on Northeast Asia and unification of the Korean Peninsula by cultural exchange.

The festival was jointly held by the Vladivostok Municipal Chapter (head: Lee Kyoung-jong) and the Korean Association of Primorye at 6pm on May 26 (Thu) in the Underground Cinema. A total of 600 participants, including local Korean residents, Russian Koreans (Koryo-saram), local Russians, and Korean Chinese (Jo-seon-jok), enjoyed various programs such as △ Unification Concert, △ Traditional dance performance, △ Hanbok fashion show, △ Experience for Korean food, △ Cultural exchange program, etc.

“We have prepared for this event to offer an opportunity for Russian Korean, Korean residents, and local Russians in the Maritime Territory to get together through culture,” Head Lee Kyoung-jong said during the opening ceremony.

Lee Sok-bae, Korean consul general in Vladivostok, delivered a congratulatory address, citing the importance of Korea-Russia Relations and expressing hope that this culture exchange promotes interaction between the two nations.

Secretary General Bae Jung-ho also visited Vladivostok for this event; during his encouragement speech, he emphasized the necessity of communicating and sharing visions between Korea and the Far Eastern Region of Russia.

Secretary General Bae Jung-ho evaluated the Korea-Russia Relations saying, “after establishing diplomatic relations in 1990, Russia became one of the closest allies of Korea and a “strategic companion” to share a common vision for the future. Since Russia has actively participated in international society’s effort to solve the nuclear problem of North Korea, the ties between the South Korea and Russia to cooperate for peace in Northeastern Asia have become stronger,” he explained.

According to Secretary General Bae, the developments of Korean Peninsula, three Northeast Provinces of China, and Primorye of Russia will form the economic bloc of the Far East. Based on close cooperation of Korea, Russia, and China, this economic bloc will have profound impact on the peace and prosperity of East Asia, and it will be realized when Korean Peninsula achieves peaceful unification, he added.

The opening ceremony was followed by a passionate performance from Baritone Park Jung-min and Soprano Kang Min-seong who sang songs about unification and residents’ favorite songs.

The two singers received great applause after singing △Unification Song Sung from the Heart, △Four Seasons in Geumgangsan Mountain, △Korean Dream, △ Toreador Song, △You raise me up, △Cranes, and △O sole mio.

This was followed by traditional dance performance and Hanbok fashion show.

Modeling at the Hanbok fashion show were Russian, Russian Korean, and Korean students studying in Russia, showing fusion Hanbok with modern sense of fashion and court Hanbok as well as traditional clothes.

Participants gushed over the colors and beauty of Hanbok, tried them on at the cultural exchange program, and posed for commemorative photographs, enjoying Korean culture immensely.