Korea Night at MOA

MANILA, Philippines - The Korean Embassy’s Korean Cultural Center recently treated mallgoers to a Korea Night with performances by the renowned TAL and a K-Pop Cover Dance Festival at the SM Cinema Centerstage in the SM Mall of Asia.

Korea Night was held in celebration of the second anniversary of the Korean Cultural Center of the Korean Embassy. Established on July 19, 2011, it offers various programs, especially designed for the Filipino market to address the growing interest in Korean culture.

Martial arts and music merged with the performance of TAL, highlighting a premium brand of non-verbal actions, which is a representative of Korean cultural heritage. It is a showcase of Korean homegrown art with special percussionists and traditional dancers, as well as B-boys who are cultural icons of the Korean youth. “Tal” means “mask” in Korean, and it represents seeing things through blinded eyes with a disciplined mind.

TAL was flown in for its first performance in the Philippines through the musical. The story tells of the journey to enlightenment of ChunPoong (Spring Wind), his disciples Terra and Mars, and the Goddess of Flowers, and what would become of them when they recognize the powers of “TAL.”

The group members demonstrated their taekwondo skills with actions of self control, high kicks, aerobatics, as well as shadow, water and fire elements. A traditional fan dance called the Buchaechum, usually performed by female dancers, and fight scenes amongst men in masks entertained the audience.

The second event was K-Pop Cover Dance Festival, a dance competition for K-Pop cover groups across the country. Nine groups showed off their K-Pop moves: WHILE (true), Se-Eon, Mister.E, Black MJIC, Miss Zey, NEO, SHINErs, Hybrid Crew and Ku-Kiss. They grooved to the music of beloved K-Pop artists such as 2NE1, SHINee and U-KISS.

NEO emerged as champion, winning a free trip to Korea to participate in the K-Pop festival in Gangwon, Korea. The group  will represent the Philippines and compete with other dance teams from around the world. Hybrid Crew bagged the first honors, while SHINErs was the second placer. 

A performance by Dasuri Choi, the former choreographer of Wonder Girls and teacher for the K-Pop dance classes at the Korean Cultural Center of the Korea Embassy, was a hit for the K-Pop lovers and the curious alike. A special showcase by the Boys on Fire, last year’s grand champion, was also one of the highlights of the Korea Night. The event was hosted by the Korea Embassy’s Korean Cultural Center events coordinator Linh Dalangin.

Guests were Korea Embassy Minister and Consul General Min Kyong-ho, Korea Embassy Counselor for Culture and Press Relations Seong Un Hwang, Korea Embassy GM Lee Duk Yung, Korea Tourism Organization director Sangyong Zhu and Master Kap Soo Kwon of the Korean Taekwondo Association.

A photo exhibit about Korea by the Korea Tourism Organization was also held at the lobby of SM Cinema Centerstage. Photos of Jeonju Bibimbap or “mixed rice,” a popular Korean dish; N-Seoul Tower or the Namsan Tower, an observation tower located on the Namsan Mountain; and the KyoungBuk Palace Guards Ceremony, a reenactment of a ceremony performed by the royal guards of the Joseon Dynasty at the entrance of Gyeongbokgung Palace, where the king ruled the country, were put on display.

 Event sponsors were Bulgogi Brothers, Etude House and Korea Tourism Organization.