On 11th June 2022, the Korean Cultural festival 2022 attracted thousands of Sri Lankans from all walks of life as they energetically cheered to the live K-pop performances at the Indoor Sugathadasa Stadium. The evening was a true celebration of Korea and Korean heritage by all Sri Lankan fans who witnessed the talents of the youth in harmony with Korean popular culture.
To celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Korea and Sri Lanka this year, the Korean Embassy together with Korean Businessmen’s Association, Korean Residents’ Association and Peaceful Unification Advisory Council South West Asia Chapter co-organized the Korean Cultural Festival 2022 held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium recently.
Mr. Somaratne Widanapathirana, Secretary of the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious & Cultural Affairs, Dr. Sunil Nawarathne, Director General of the National Institute of Education (NIE), Famous Music and dance artists Mr. Bathiya Jayakody, Mr. Santhush Weeraman, Mr. Channa Wijewardena, Ms. Umaria Sinhawansa and Ms. Aseka Wijewardena, Ambassadors, diplomatic corps and Korean Community Leaders participated in this event.
The Korean Cultural Festival was composed of two main events, ‘the Quiz on Korea and the K-Pop World Festival’. Delivering the welcoming remarks, Korean Ambassador H.E. Santhush Woonjin JEONG stated “On the celebration of the 45th anniversary between Korea and Sri Lanka this year, the Korean Embassy is delighted to launch the Quiz on Korea. People-to-people exchanges and cultural cooperation are the very foundation of the friendship between our two countries. The growing popularity of the Korean wave, in particular K-pop and K-dramas among many Sri Lankans reflect the deep interest in Korean culture and language.
Reflecting the deep interest for Korean culture by Sri Lankans in particular the youth, I commend the Education Ministry for adopting the Korean language as a foreign language to advanced level classes in Sri Lanka. From next year, you can take the Korean language in the university entrance examination. Becoming proficient in the Korean language will be the engine that will drive you to receive many job opportunities in Korea.”
Conveying the congratulatory remarks all guests appreciated the efforts of the Korean Embassy to promote cultural cooperation between the two countries. Mr. Somaratne Widanapathirana, Secretary of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs congratulated all participants and stated,’ I am keen to encourage more tourism and labour cooperation between Korea and Sri Lanka. As many Sri Lankans are eager to learn the Korean language, it will help in generating more job opportunities in Korea.’
Dr. Sunil Nawarathne, Director General of the NIE also said’ you are the future of this country and I hope all of you learn Korean language which is fantastic and valuable for your future. More than 100 schools offer Korean language as an O/L subject and from 2023 you can sit for advanced level examinations as well. I also appreciate the efforts of Korea to help Sri Lanka at this juncture and let’s learn from Korea and make Sri Lanka a developed nation.’
The Quiz-on Korea was a survival quiz competition where the questions were based on generic topics of Korea, including Korean lifestyle, traditional culture, history and language. Around one hundred competitors from Sri Lanka took part in this quiz and their deep knowledge about Korea and the Korean language was truly remarkable.
The finalists of the Quiz on Korea confidently answered tricky questions to the awe of the audience including the guests and honour and Korean nationals. Emerging from a tough competition, the following participants bagged awards and certificates. The winner of the quiz competition gets an opportunity to take part in the final quiz competition in Korea and compete with national representatives from different countries around the world to win the top prize. Congratulations to all the winners!
1st Place – Fathima Ahra Imthiaz Latiff
2nd Place – Pallage Umanga Sanathani Perera
3rd Place – Ukwaththa Arachchige Gayani Milanika
3rd Place – Fathima Sahlah Mohamed Imthiaz
The K-Pop World Festival is a K-pop performance competition, for which the Embassy selected eight talented dancing groups and five brilliant vocalists for the preliminary round. These performances were selected after a scrutinised evaluation from the legendary judges Mr. Bathiya Jayakody Mr. Santhush Weeraman, Mr. Channa Wijewardena Ms. Umaria Sinhawansa, Ms. Aseka Wijewardena and Ms. Boa Lim. All performers selected for the preliminary round exhibited affluent talents in singing and dancing through their spectacular performances on the stage charming the judges and the audience.
The judges decided to select two winners to join the K-pop world competition that will be held later in this year in Korea, following a screening process. They will also be able to meet and perform together with K-Pop stars.
Congratulations to all winners of the K-pop festival in Sri Lanka!
Winners of Dancing Category
1st Place – Black Thunder
2nd Place – Chonchi & Nicky
3rd Place – Dango
4th Place – Lucifer
Winners of the Singing Category
1st Place – Sisara Rathnayake
2nd Place – Hashini Tharuka Miranda
The audience was actively engaged throughout the event and a raffle draw was held as the final item on the agenda. Many lucky winners won valuable prizes including a Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus 5G BTS edition.
