Hallyu & Me (Part III)

Although I didn't do these two community service projects specifically for this project, over the past year I've dedicated more than twenty hours of my time these two community service activities as part of Korean Club at Punahou School. Since the Korean community in Hawaii doesn't have many opportunities for volunteering, it was important to seize every opportunity possible! The largest and most important event where the Korean community gathers together and volunteers their time and effort is at the annual Korean Festival in July. Even though I've been to the Korean Festival before, last summer was the first summer I ever had a chance to volunteer.

The Korean Festival is very similar to the Okinawan Festival in that it has many food boths (such as Palama Market and Kimchee Hot Dog), kiddie games, culture booths (such as hanbok picture taking), entertainment including kimchee eating and karaoke contests, and so much more. The Korean festival is also the perfect place to become immersed in Korean culture, and I always visit the Hallyu booth which has an overwhelming collection of magazines, posters, pictures, and other memorobilia of Hallyu over the years. In addition, I also enjoy listening to the music which highlights both the older and more modern Korean songs. For example, this past year they had two very popular singers come from Korea- WAX and Lee Ki Chan.

{Clip of a News Report on Korean Festival 2007}



{Clip of WAX and Lee Ki Chan sining 오빠 (Oppa)}

The second community service project that I participated in besides the annual Korean Festival is the annual K-Fest sponsored by the Hawaii International Film Festival. Korean media (films, dramas, music, etc.) has become so popular in Hawaii as a result of Hallyu that Hawaii International Festival has dedicated one week to Korean Moves through K-Fest. Although I must admit it wasn't as exciting as Korean Festival, after my shift was over I was allowed to go into the theaters to watch the films for free and in that sense immerse myself in Korean culture through the movies! ^O^ This past K-Fest they had Hallyu star Lee Jun Ki make an appearance, and in the past they had other big name stars appear at the film fest such as Han Ji Won and Lee Byung Hun two other well respected veteran actors.

{Clip of Hawaii International Film Fest: Lee Jun Ki}

1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5pOxrfIpI8&feature=related

2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc2r_wgLEDk&feature=related

{Side Note: One thing that I would like to note about Korean actors and actresses that make them very different from American actors and actresses is that they're normally more personal in the sense that they'll accept leis, take pictures, and sometimes even give hugs to their fans! ^O^ This is one of the main reasons why the Korean Drama fans in Hawaii were so upset when Lee Jun Ki was rushed to the car after his arrival at the airport.}