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'2024 K-Wave Festival' to celebrate foreign K-content creators on Nov. 2

Published: 24 Oct. 2024, 15:36 Updated: 24 Oct. 2024, 15:40

YIM SEUNG-HYE
[email protected]

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism organized a ″K-Wave Festival″ on Saturday at the Yes24 Live Hall. [MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM]

A vibrant celebration of Korean culture is set to unfold on Nov. 2 as foreign content creators and promoters of Korea's beauty and culture gather for the “2024 K-Wave Festival." Organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the festival will kick off at 5 p.m. at the Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul.

The festival will award individuals and groups who have made outstanding contributions to promoting Korean culture globally. It will also feature performances by K-pop artists and international teams, offering a showcase of Korean culture as it continues to thrive beyond the borders of the country.

The first part of the event, the K-Creators Awards, will highlight exceptional participants of the Korea.net Honorary Reporters and K-Influencers programs, which are run by the Culture Ministry to support content creators who share Korean culture with global audiences through articles, videos and other creative works. The winners of the international content contest Talk Talk Korea 2024 will also be recognized.

This year’s top honors in the Korea.net Honorary Reporters category include Frenky Ramiro de Jesus from Timor-Leste, who wrote in-depth pieces about lesser-known tourist destinations in Korea. In the K-Influencers category, Thailand’s Aiyaphat Wankawisant will be awarded for producing engaging videos that creatively showcased Korean culture through variety show formats, such as walking tours and makeup tutorials.

In the Talk Talk Korea 2024 contest, Gahir from India won in the memes and trends category with a humorous take on common Korean phone conversations.

The second part of the event will focus on the K-Community Challenge, which brings together global fan clubs devoted to Korean culture. The challenge includes categories such as hansik (Korean food); Joseon pop, which fuses Korean traditional music with modern pop; Sogo dance (small drum dance); and taekwonmu (a dance inspired by taekwondo).

The festival will not only celebrate the awardees but also showcase performances by K-pop stars and winners of the various challenges. Russia's Luminance dance team, which won for their choreography to the festival's official theme song, "Shining on You," will kick off the event with a special performance. K-pop acts including WOOAH, EPEX and SF9 will be performing at the event. Bebe, the dance crew that won "Street Woman Fighter 2" (2023), will also be performing.

The Culture Ministry said the awardees will be going on an eight-day tour of Korea, visiting cultural landmarks such as Gyeongbok Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village and other scenic sites including the Dodamsambong Peaks and Gosu Cave in Danyang.

“The awardees' passion and creativity have brought Korean culture to a global audience, and I am deeply impressed by their love for Korea," said Culture Minister Yu In-chon. "We will continue to support the spread of Korean culture worldwide.”

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [[email protected]]