The 15th annual Itaewon Global Village Festival was held Oct. 15 -- 16 in the Itaewon special tourist zone, with cultural performances and activity booths prepared for the community.
The festival kicked off with a parade followed by the opening ceremony attended by Yongsan-gu Mayor Sung, Jang-hyun, Yongsan Police Chief Kim, Kyung-won and U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan garrison commander Col. J. Scott Peterson along with other dignitaries.
The parade took place on the first day of the event. Performers included the 8th Army Band, a fashion display featuring foreigners from areas like Bangladeshi and Vietnam, small children, Korean Honor Guards and traditional Korean culture performance teams. The parade lasted for two hours, and was magnificent in the sense that more than one thousand performers walked through from Hangangjin Station to Main Stage located at Noksapyeong Station, boasting the length of 1.4 km.
As the name of the festival suggests, booths for experiencing both traditional Korean and global culture and foods were prepared for visitors. Foods ranging from traditional Korean food to exotic foreign foods like kebab, lamb sandwich, curry with rice, taco and coconut milk were sold at the vendors.
Korean citizens especially loved exotic foods because rarely do they have a chance to eat those at a cheap price.
"I really enjoyed various foods offered by the food vendors, especially the lamb sandwich," said Seoul native Seo, Joo-sang. "It was a pleasure for me to eat so many different kinds of exotic food at once."
The fashion show which featured garments from many different countries attracted visitors. The K-POP performances at night featuring famous K-POP stars including Sul, Ha-yun, Crying Nut, Mamamu were another huge attraction. Near the Itaewon station, club disc jockeys from nearby clubs in Itaewon played music for the crowd.
According to imnews.imbc.com, the festival was successful with approximately one million visitors. "I will make the Itaewon festival be a festival that represents the Republic of Korea, with tourists visiting from all around the world," said Sung.
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