October 5-11: From Prehistoric Era 6000 BC via Non-Face-to-Face and Online... Diverse Events Including Seonsaebit Street, Seonsa Golden Bell Quiz Show, and 'Ieumsik' Meeting 600 Residents on Large LED Screen
[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Gangdong-gu (District Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon) will hold the “25th Gangdong Prehistoric Culture Festival” under the theme “Connection” for seven days from October 5 to 11.
The festival connects the past to the present, heart to heart, and transforms the festival, which was at risk of disruption due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), into creative online content, continuing the legacy of the Gangdong Prehistoric Culture Festival for a quarter of a century.
First opened in 1996, the Gangdong Prehistoric Culture Festival is the only festival in Seoul themed around the prehistoric era, boasting a clear historical significance and identity.
This year, in response to the COVID-19 era, it will be held as a non-face-to-face (untact) but online-connected “Ontact” festival. All programs are planned as online content using platforms such as YouTube, designed to provide a vivid sense of being on-site. The festival aims to offer fun through the Ontact format to citizens weary from COVID-19 and deliver messages of comfort and hope.
The festival begins on October 5 at 7 p.m. with the “Prehistoric Light Street Lighting Ceremony.” Sculptures called “Light Huts” and hanji paper lanterns illuminating the festival’s light for a week will be installed at six key locations: in front of the Somangumteo at the main stage of the Seoul Amsa-dong Prehistoric Site, in front of Sangil-dong Station’s Godeok Gracium shopping complex, Homeplus Gangdong branch, Hyundai Department Store Cheonho branch, Gangdong-gu Office Open Yard, and Iljasan Lawn Plaza.
The lighting ceremony will be broadcast live on the Gangdong-gu Office YouTube channel, showing the sequential domino-style lighting at each light street and the finale lighting at the Seoul Amsa-dong Prehistoric Site.
From October 6 to 11, participants can join the “Neolithic Archaeology Experience School” online, imagining the life of prehistoric people. Educational content videos allowing participants to experience Neolithic culture, such as making comb-pattern pottery, will be posted on the Seoul Amsa-dong Prehistoric Site website and Gangdong-gu Office YouTube channel.
On October 9 at 10 a.m., a domestic academic conference on the Amsa-dong Prehistoric Site will be held. Under the theme “Prehistoric Sites and Cultural Heritage Education,” experts will present topics and engage in discussions. This will serve as an opportunity to re-examine the value of Seoul’s oldest village, the Seoul Amsa-dong Prehistoric Site, and take a step closer to its registration as a World Heritage site.
On the final day, October 11, an online resident participation program and the festival’s highlight, “Ieumsik,” will take place. At 2 p.m., about 100 elementary school students will compete in the “Prehistoric Golden Bell Quiz Show” testing their knowledge of prehistoric sites, and at 3 p.m., local hairdressers will present creative hair performances themed around “Connection” in the “Prehistoric Hair Show.”
At 7 p.m., under the subtitle “Tribute to All Stars,” “Ieumsik” will offer a special experience connecting over 600 residents virtually on a large LED screen. Medical staff working on the front lines of COVID-19, small business owners united in quarantine efforts during the crisis, and residents are all “stars,” and this event will provide a healing time for all stars.
The theme performance, showing prehistoric humans’ discovery of fire and human efforts for civilization development, will begin with modern dance by Cha Jin-yeop. Following this, invited singer Yoon Do-hyun and the world acapella choir Olympic champion team Harmonize will perform songs conveying the will to overcome COVID-19 and hope. A spectacular drone show will conclude the event above a stage filled with residents’ wish cards.
All performances will be non-face-to-face and broadcast live via the Gangdong-gu Office YouTube channel.
Lee Jeong-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, stated, “This year’s Gangdong Prehistoric Culture Festival will prioritize residents’ safety in accordance with the COVID-19 era, which requires ‘scattering to survive,’ and will be conducted strictly following quarantine rules in an Ontact format. We hope that through the festival, people will feel a warm community and receive messages of hope and healing to overcome COVID-19.”
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