Thursday, June 24, 2010

‘Inspiring Night in Korea’

The Korea Tourism Organization and the 2010-2012 Visit Korea Year(s) Committee kicked off its inaugural tourism PR event, “Inspiring Night in Korea,” yesterday i,e 23rd of june 2010 at Changdeok Palace in central Seoul.



The annual event was organized by the nation’s tourism authority in cooperation with the VKC to boost awareness of the country’s fledgling tourism industry.

Under the auspicious banner: “Korea, Be Inspired,” KTO President Lee Charm and VKC chairman Shin Dong-bin presided over the opening in front of a crowd of some 1,000 guests made up of travel industry personnel, expats, and local and foreign tourists.



Lee was joined by Culture Minister Yoo In-chon and first lady Kim Yun-ok, who later appointed “Winter Sonata” actress Choi Ji-woo as an honorary envoy to Visit Korea Year’s smile troupe -- a group selected to be hospitality representatives of Korea.



(From left) Korea Tourism Organization president Lee Charm, First Lady Kim Yun-ok and Culture Minister Yoo In-chon join in a stroll around the Changdeok Palace Wednesday during the “Inspiring Night in Korea” event. The Korea Herald/Chung Hee-cho
Source : Yonhap News

Lee later said, “As an inducted historical site on the UNESCO World Heritage list, I am ecstatic that we were able to hold this event here at Changdeok Palace.” He added, “It is important that we not only showcase the beauty of our architecture but have visitors relate to our culture by understanding the many hidden stories behind our historical sites that live on intangibly.”




The way the entire production rolled out was a welcome change from the bombastic presentation a lot of these types of events showcase.



There was various item for the guests, plenty of real estate all throughout the palace to decide for themselves from where to stat, what to see and experience.



The event began at 7 p.m. with a troupe of actors dramatizing the day in the life of a Joseon King and Queen.
Visitors were given a chance to try out the many traditional Korean confectionaries called “dasik,” experience life inside a temple, and the opportunity to be treated with oriental medical practices of the royal court.

“Global Goodwill Ambassador” and star chef Edward Kwon unveiled his latest unorthodox fusion cuisine with a completely different take of the age-old summertime poultry dish, samgyetang -- his was ice cold. While not very appetizing in theory, both creations were surprisingly hearty and flavorful.





The official start of the event began with KTO President Lee Charm and Visit Korea Year Committee chairman Shin Dong-bin’s welcoming address, with the former clad in a gray hanbok.


Folk singer and samulnori veteran Jang Sa-ik performance was the centre of the stage, whose song steel the viewer's heart and mind.





Source : from Yonhap News

1 comment:

DengKe He said...

it was an amazing program.