Korean cultural week opens Tuesday at Katara

The Cultural Village Foundation-Katara along with the South Korean Embassy in Qatar will Tuesday open a series of performances to showcase Korean culture here to celebrate the Korean National Day. The focus of the 12-day Korean Cultural Week (KCW) in Doha is to exposing the citizens and residents of Qatar to a different culture. The events will be held at Katara Opera House, Drama Theater and Building 19 from 10 am to 10 pm. Katara endeavours to promote the central role of culture in human, social and economic development through films, art, music and dance. The KCW will showcase Korean customs, traditions and culture. The films scheduled for screening at Katara will promote different live styles, mind sets, values that result in a positive outlook towards Korea's culture and the thought process of their people they want to express as a country, a Katara bulletin said. The Art Exhibitions will help portray vivid impressions of landscapes, architecture and typical scenes one would expect to see in Korea. The Korean Traditional Music and Dance Team, the National Gugak Center will highlight the essence of the Korean culture. The Korean traditional music and dance performance will be held at Opera House, Building 16 from 7.30pm to 9pm on Tuesday. The night's programme features Taepyungmu - a Korean dance with the function of wishing great peace for the country. Crane dance, Fan dance, Jindo Drum Dance, Ganggangsullae, Sarangga, Jijeonchum, Salpurichum, Sogochum. Korean traditional dance originated in ancient shamanistic rituals in ancient era. The Fan dance is believed to have originated with shamans performing nature rites with leaves. It has since evolved into one of the most highly refined Korean dances. By the time of the later Korean kingdoms, Goryeo and Joseon, in the second millennium, Korean traditional dance benefited from regular support of the royal court, numerous academies, and even an official ministry of the government, according to an independent version of documented dance history. The Seoul-based National Gugak Center - previously known as National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts - is the governing body established to preserve and promote traditional Korean performing arts. In the distant past, Korean traditional arts were performed in the yards. The audience were separated into an area in the shape of an earthen wall, and the ceiling had a shield/kite shaped emanating plate. The theatre gave the illusion of being in an ancient Korean household.