Indonesia Ranked Third in Cultural Festival in Itaewon, Seoul

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta -  The Indonesian team ranked third in the 2018 Itaewon Global Village Festival held in the city of Seoul, South Korea. A total of 38 countries joined the festival including Indonesia with the theme of Magnificent Diversity.

The two-week festival held in October took place in the renowned international region in Seoul. “This year festival themed Let’s Beat, Itaewon successfully attracts 1.4 million visitors,” said Indonesian Embassy's social and cultural official in Seoul Purno Widodo to Antara, Tuesday, October 16.

Cultural parades, performances of music, dance, street foods as well as crafts from various parts of the world enlivened the festival. Visitors could also explore unique cultures from diverse countries in a specific zone.

Indonesian Embassy in Seoul presented 40 citizens parading the country’s cultures during the street parade. The team comprised of Indonesian Traditional Dance Group, Indonesian Student Association, the Indonesian Embassy’s Dharma Wanita Persatuan in Seoul, Paguyuban Kedaerahan Indonesia, and migrant workers in South Korea.

The team performed various traditional clothes and Sabalah Dance from West Sumatera and Topeng Kelana Dance and numerous crafts from throughout the archipelago in its booth.

Deputy Ambassador of Indonesian Embassy in Seoul, Siti Sofia Sudarma, lauded the achievement. “Indonesia with much cultural wealth is indeed worthy to be one of the best. Indonesia is one of the magnets [that attract tourists].”

Commenced annually since 2008 during the autumn season, Itaewon Global Village Festival aimed to create South Korea as the place where various cultures meet and develop, either from domestic or foreign countries.

Itaewon is a residential area (dong) which lies in Youngsan-gu District, Seoul, South Korea. Some 22,000 people live in the area, and many restaurants opened by foreign immigrants, such as from India, Thailand, the Middle East, Mexico, and Indonesia.

ANTARA