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Art and Culture

And now it's time for our arts and culture segment with Michelle Kim. Today she'll tell us about two special events in Seoul.

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Hello Michelle

[Reporter : ] Hello Conn-young

So what do you have for us today[Reporter : ] Well, this year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and two countries -- New Zealand and Iran.
On Wednesday, New Zealand commemorated the occasion with a performance and other events. Take a look.

A Maori group from New Zealand shared their music and dance traditions through a performance in Myeong-dong on Wednesday as part of a ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and New Zealand.
New Zealand Ambassador Patrick Rata gave the keynote speech at the event, saying how delighted he was to celebrate the friendship between the two countries.

[Interview : Patrick Rata, New Zealand Ambassador] "We had a wonderful occasion here today with the Maori cultural group performing. It's been an opportunity to celebrate 50 years of friendship between Korea and New Zealand. It's been an opportunity to bring a little bit of New Zealand culture to Korea and it's been an opportunity to showcase some real talent that we have in New Zealand".

The performers, part of New Zealand's Te Arawa Maori Group, are from Rotorua, a city on the country's north island that is situated on a lake and popular with tourists.
The 14-member group presented the Kapa Haka, a traditional Maori performance that mixes a variety of song and dance styles.
Kapa Haka, which means to stand in a row and dance, usually starts with the Waiata Tira, a song used to warm up the vocal cords, and includes "Waiata-a-ringa", a song illustrated with graceful hand movements, and "Pou", songs sung in unison that tell stories from the Maori people's history.
A performer from the group explained the dance's significance in Maori culture.

[Interview : Performer with the Te Arawa Maori Group] "These songs and dances have been passed down from generation to generation to share with audiences like yourselves. The dance is the way showing our culture to the world, sharing the love of the Maori people".

After the performance, members of the audience were invited to interact with the artists, who offered a short workshop on Maori song and dance styles.Music and dance are always a great way to exchange cultural traditions.

[Reporter : ] That's right and I think this special event definitely helped Koreans get a glimpse of the culture of New Zealand and its traditional dance and music styles. It would be nice to have Korean dancers go to New Zealand to share our music and dance traditions there as well.

Well, hopefully they will get the chance to do so soon. Now, I hear there's another country celebrating its 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Korea[Reporter : ] Yes. This year marks a half century of diplomatic ties between Korea and Iran, and the two countries presented a series of events to mark the anniversary earlier this month. But there is one more event -- an art exhibition you can still catch until Tuesday. Take a look.

Iranian artist Mohammad Bagher Achamiri specializes in Persian miniatures, small, colorful paintings on parchment, metal, ivory or other surfaces that reflect Iranian beliefs and virtues and depict Islamic culture.
Achamiri's works are currently on display in an exhibition called "Persian Miniature: Portrait of Imagination", which continues at the Korea Foundation Cultural Center Gallery until October 30th.
Persian miniatures were traditionally kept in books or albums and shown only to the people of the owner's choice, giving the artists more freedom to express themselves.
In his paintings, Achamiri uses vivid blue, orange and purple hues to explore humans' inner struggles and the relationship between humans and nature.
The paintings also contain symbols from Islamic culture.
For example, in the painting called "A Flower and A Bird", the flower and bird represent the gods, a beautiful lady and the mystical heavens.
Another painting called "Anxiety" aims to portray people's inner struggles, especially the eternal conflict between good and evil.
All of the artworks have a heavenly, mystical feel and they all delve into the inner nature of objects.
These dreamlike artworks will be on display until the 30th of the month at the Korea Foundation Cultural Center in Myeong-dong, central Seoul.

It nice to have so many different events to help us understand more about these two countries and their cultural traditions.

[Reporter : ] It certainly is. I feel like it's sometimes easier to access other cultures through music and arts performances rather than through lectures or articles.

I would agree with that. Cultural exchange is certainly an important way to develop friendships and build understanding. And now to wrap things up, you have the events bulletin for us[Reporter : ] I do. Today's bulletin has three events that all take place in December.
There are two concerts on the 1st and 2nd, one by singer Lee Seung-gi and the other by guitar legend Shin Joong-hyun. The third concert features rock star Kim Kyung-ho and takes place on Christmas Eve. Here are the details.

[Reporter : ed: jenny] This bulletin features 3 events.

The multi-talented Lee Seung-gi returns to his roots as a singer when he performs at Olympic Park's Gymnastic Stadium on December 1st and 2nd. Lee first rose to fame as a singer and later gained recognition for his acting. He has also served as the host of several TV shows, the most recent of which was "Strong Heart", which ended in March.

Guitarist Shin Joong-hyun, a rock legend in Korea, returns to the stage for two concerts at Olympic Park's Olympic Hall on December 1st and 2nd. The legendary guitarist will be joined on stage by his two sons, guitarist Shin Yoon-chul and keyboardist Shin Suk-chul, and a 12-person orchestra.

Rock star Kim Kyung-ho presents two concerts on Christmas Eve at Konkuk University's New Millenium Hall. Kim is promising a night filled with powerful rock music.

Thank you for the update

[Reporter : ] My pleasure

OCT 25, 2012

Reporter : dainee@arirang.co.kr

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