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Lunar New Year Celebrations with Hanbok Donated From Korea
Country
Canada
Date
2023.02.14

Lunar New Year celebrations at Surrey Korean School in British Columbia


Photo: Students bowing to the principal and vice principal

Photo: Students bowing to the principal and vice principal



Surrey Korean School (Principal Song Seong-bun) in British Columbia hosted the traditional cultural experience event for Lunar New Year from 9:30 AM to 12 PM on January 21, 2023. Faculty members and 100 students dressed up in hanbok and enjoyed the Lunar New Year’s party. Principal Song Seong-bun said, “This is the first time for all students to gather in three years as we conducted online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We prepared the event to remind of Lunar New Year’s festivities when all family members get together.”


Photo: Group photo of students wearing beautiful hanbok

Photo: Group photo of students wearing beautiful hanbok



Especially at the event, students had a chance to wear 100 hanboks donated from Korea. One of the students' parent said, “I was touched when I saw my child got excited wearing hanbok. I am planning to visit Korea and buy hanbok.”


Photo: Gusulchigi (marbles)

Photo: Gusulchigi (marbles)



Photo: Mugunghwa (red light, green light)

Photo: Mugunghwa (red light, green light)



Photo: Ttakjichigi (pogs)

Photo: Ttakjichigi (pogs)



Photo: Yutnori (board game)

Photo: Yutnori (board game)



Photo: Jegichagi (hacky sack)

Photo: Jegichagi (hacky sack)



Photo: Tuho (pitch-pot)

Photo: Tuho (pitch-pot)



This day, students took part in playing traditional Korean games, including gusulchigi (marbles), mugunghwa (red light, green light), ttakjichigi (pogs), yutnori (board game), jegichagi (hacky sack), and tuho (pitch-pot). Students were grouped by age and enjoyed simplified versions, such as using a balloon for jegichagi because students found it difficult to hit small sacks. Students also had a time to learn the meaning and gesture of the customary Lunar New Year bow and actually bowed to the principal and vice principal.  Principal Song Seong-bun handed out a snack coin as Lunar New Year money along with words of blessing.


Lunar New Year Celebrations with Hanbok Donated From Korea



INTERVIEW
Principal Song Seong-bun


Q. How were hanboks donated from Korea to Canada?
Two boxes of hanbok from Korea were delivered to the Korean School in Canada 10 days before the Lunar New Year in 2017. We organized hanboks according to age, gender, and body type of students and parents.  Hanbok to me is the longing for Korea with warm, affectionate memories of a baby sling that my mother hold me in when I was a baby. I opened the boxes of hanbok with excitement and thanked students and parents from Korea as well as the people who promoted this amazing opportunity. The donated hanboks are still used at holiday events. New students shrill with excitement and joy when they try on hanbok for the first time. I am really grateful for this donation.

Q. What started this tradition of donating hanbok?
When I heard about the ceremony for donating hanbok to overseas students according to the renewed agreement between Daegu and France Rouen Education Offices for celebrating the 130th anniversary of Korea-France diplomatic relations, I luckily got in touch with the principal of one elementary school who I’ve worked with when I was in Korea. I learned that she was part of the hanbok donation project and I told her about our situation. This story and love resulted in delivering hanbok to Vancouver crossing the Pacific Ocean.


Q. How is hanbok valuedin overseas?
I never knew hanbok was so valuable when I lived in Korea. As I immigrated to Canada and look at the second-generation Koreans growing up in Canada, I realized the significance of hanbok. We prepared traditional Korean games every year to teach about Korea but something was always missing because I couldn’t get hanbok. The donation from Korea made this year’s Lunar New Year more abundant.


Q. What importance do you place on the act of sharing?
Most of the students at Korean language schools overseas are children of Korean immigrants. Students with both Korean parents or one Korean parent are overseas Koreans, and other students are foreigners. Even Canadian students come to Korean schools to learn the Korean language because they like Korea and Korean culture. So they are very enthusiastic. They love wearing hanbok from Korea, but more than that, they are amazed by the love from Korea. Sharing became an opportunity to change the image of Korea more positively. Hanbok donation is a way to promote the Korean wave and give a better impression of Korean people’s love.




Overseas Korean correspondent