Seoul: Overseas Korean Cultural Centers are celebrating the Lunar New Year with a series of events designed to showcase both traditional and contemporary Korean culture, offering unique experiences such as playing children’s games featured in Netflix’s “Squid Game” Season 2. The initiative is organized by South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and is hosted at 22 cultural centers across 20 countries.
According to Lao News Agency, Choi Bo-geun, director of the ministry’s international cultural promotion policy department, noted that the recent release of “Squid Game” Season 2 has sparked global interest in traditional Korean games. To capitalize on this interest, the ministry has curated various events allowing participants to engage directly with Korean culture during the Lunar New Year holiday.
In the United States, the Korean Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., is collaborating with the Smithsonian American Art Museum from February 1-7. The events are tailored for families and Korean culture enthusiasts and will feature traditional Korean performances such as “samulnori,” a percussion ensemble, and “sangmo,” a hat spinning act. Exhibitions highlighting Korean pop culture and a K-pop promotion zone are also scheduled.
The Los Angeles Korean Cultural Center recently organized a hanbok try-on event and tea tasting. From February 1-2, it will partner with the Huntington Library to present cultural performances and Asian culture and art education programs.
Similar events are planned in Europe. The Korean Cultural Center in Germany will celebrate Lunar New Year’s Day with traditional Korean games such as “gonggi,” a five-stones game seen in “Squid Game” Season 2, “yutnori,” a board game, and “jegichagi,” a foot-shuttlecock game. Participants will also enjoy “tteokguk,” a traditional rice cake soup.
In Italy, the cultural center will host a traditional Korean music and dance performance on the same day. Meanwhile, Sweden’s center is planning a hanbok exhibition and a traditional Korean cultural performance on January 30 for students and Korean culture enthusiasts at the Republic of Korea’s state-supported Korean language centers.