India’s biggest Korean culture festival, Rang De Korea, shakes up whole of India
Rang De Korea, currently in its third edition, has become a symbol of Korean culture in New Delhi. -Performances by NTX, Ha Minwoo, Uuheeska, Balkwang and Pax Arari were the highlights of the event.
New Delhi, 19 Oct 2024: The 3rd edition of Rang De Korea, the biggest Korean culture festival in India, was organised by Korean Cultural Centre India at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Auditorium in New Delhi. The showpiece event has become a symbol of Korean culture in Delhi, offering a platform to enjoy and experience it. Launched in 2022, the event has firmly established itself in a short span of time.
This year’s event was a megaton-level festival encompassing various genres of content such as K-beauty, K-food, K-fashion, K-snack, K-craft and K-play with performing artists representing Korean culture, alternating between indoor performance hall and outdoor plazas of the venue. The semi-final of the 14th All India K-Pop Contest, exclusively sponsored by LG Electronics India, was this year held simultaneously along with the Rang De Korea event.
The gala event was inaugurated by Chang Jae-bok, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India, in the gracious presence of Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary East, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. The event aimed at fostering the cultural bond between Korea and India and further deepen the cultural ties between the two nations.
Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador of Republic of Korea to India Chang Jae-bok said, “It is truly heartfelt to see the ‘Rang De Korea’ event growing each year with more Indian fans joining to celebrate Korea and its vibrant culture. The friendship between Korea and India is built on mutual respect, shared stories, and deep cultural ties. We honour the enduring legacy of the matrimonial alliance between the Indian princess from Ayodhya and the Korean King Kim Suro, as well as the spiritual bonds fostered through Buddhism. Over the centuries, these exchanges have flourished, and today our partnership remains vibrant across various sectors like economy, education, technology, and global governance.”
Performance groups at the event included K-pop’s ‘NTX’ and ‘Ha Minwoo’; Fusion Concert’s Uuheeska, a modern reinterpretation of Korea’s traditional comedy play; Balkwang, who created an action comedy using Taekkyeon, a traditional Korean martial art; Pax Arari, which created an ensemble by combining traditional Korean instruments and piano.
NTX, who debuted in March 2021, are a rising rookie star, and this was their first visit to India. They enthralled the audience with their performance and also interacted with their fans in a special ‘Fan Meet and Greet’ event. They showed their immense respect for the diverse Indian culture and expressed their desire to visit the Taj Mahal. In the middle of their performance, they interacted with the crowds by using Hindi phrases such as ‘chalo chalo’ and ‘main aapse pyaar karta hoon’. They ended the performance by thanking the crowd with a ‘dhanyavaad’.
Ha Minwoo, who was visiting India for the third time, said that the Rang De Korea event was a special moment for him. He used this occasion to show his love and respect for the Indian audiences and also presented some unreleased songs.
The ‘Ninano Concert’, which was presented by the theater company Uuheeska, is a modern recreation of the traditional Korean play containing dance, song, and stories of the common people. It became popular after it was selected to represent Korea at the World Sound Festival and World Music Festival held in Korea. The troupe, Balkwang is a performance group based on Taekkyeon, a traditional Korean martial art which is the world’s first martial art and has been registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Pax Arari is a performance group that combines piano and traditional Korean instruments. Arari is a local folk song from Jeongseon in Korea. The identity of the group with this name, Arari is that the newly recreated culture based on the most local elements can create a new world of music that can be sympathized with all over the world.
At the outdoor plaza attached to the event’s indoor hall, an experience space was created where one could experience various Korean Wave contents such as Korean ramen, snacks, beauty, food, Hanbok (Korean Traditional Cloth), crafts, and especially K-pop and K-dramas. Korean cultural content companies operating in India, such as LG, Samyang, and Orion, participated and introduced and promoted their products, as well as the communities and small businesses formed by local Korean culture fans in India (Korikart, Haru World, K Fandom Store, Indian K-Pop). The various Korean culture products and contents presented at each designated places and booths captivated the five senses of the visitors.
Hwang Il Yong, director of Korean Cultural Centre India said, “Korean culture and the Korean Wave in India have now grown into mainstream culture throughout India and especially in large cities such as Delhi and Mumbai. This event has been prepared to demonstrate the excellence of original Korean culture and Korean Cultural Wave content. I hope many Indian fans come and have fun while learning proper and authentic Korean culture, then I look forward to continuing to recreate and reproduce Korean cultural content through these Indian fans.”
