Yeongdong Grape and Nangye Gugak Festivals

The 43rd Yeongdong Nangye Traditional Music Festival will be held in Yeongdong County, Chungcheongbuk-do, from Sept. 3 to 7.

The festival was established by Yeongdong County and the Nangye Memorial Association to honor scholar Park Yeon (1378-1458), who played a central role in laying a foundation for Korean traditional music, or gugak, under the pen name Nangye in the early 15th century.

This is also the only traditional music festival in the country officially recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

A music parade will liven up the street prior to the official opening that same day. Performers from the Nangye Folk Troupe Association will take the lead, joined by African musicians to celebrate the universality of the power of music. The opening ceremony will present a variety of gugak performances, plus performances from other musical genres including trot, fusion, dance, K-pop, and non-verbal performances from the musical “Nanta,” featuring traditional Korean percussion.

The organizing committee has prepared a gugak class to show how the instruments are made and played, led by Korea’s best–known craftsmen. Visitors can choose from six different instruments: daegeum (large transverse flute), geomungo (six-string zither), sanjo ajaeng (seven-string bowed zither), and three types of gayageum (zither).

Reservations can be made online at: nangyekukak.or.kr (Korean language only) so that the craftsman can do preliminary work preparing the instruments to be strung and decorated in class. The price ranges from 290,000 (daegeum) to 890,000 won (25-string gayageum).

Seven foreign diplomats and their families stationed in Korea, including U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Mark Tokola, and delegations from Vietnam, Guatemala, Slovakia, Côte d’Ivoire, Laos, and Uzbekistan, have already made their reservations. The 20-member group will learn how to carve and tie strings for gayageum and haegeum over the course of an hour before getting introductory lessons on how to play their new instruments.

The same day, the village will unveil a giant drum that has been in production since June last year. The drum is 5.5 meters in diameter, 6 meters in length, and weighs 7.5 tons, and was made with the hides of 40 cows and wood from a 150-year old pine tree.
The organizing committee plans to apply for recognition from the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest drum

The Yeongdong Grape Festival will be running concurrently with the music festival. Visitors can take part in grape-themed games and activities, such as making grape wine and jam, and picking and pressing grapes. Some more unusual games include grape “fishing” and a grape “World Cup.” Local vendors selling grapes and grape-flavored foods will also be on hand.

A gugak performance and wine party will take place all day long during the weekend of Sept. 4th and 5th. The local wine train which runs three days a week (Tue, Fri, and Sat.) will be in full operation everyday during the festival.

A marathon will take place on Sept. 5. In addition to trophies for winners, there will be wines and boxes of grapes for other high-achieving participants. Yeongdong T-shirts will be distributed to all who join the marathon.

Other events include exhibitions of oriental paintings, wild flowers, rare stones, and calligraphy, along with traditional instruments from other Asian countries, and a traditional market featuring local cuisine.

Related website: http://www.nanmf.org/english/01_intro/intro01.asp

source:Korea.net

Seoul, Lima strike free trade deal

Korea and Peru struck a free trade agreement (FTA) on Aug. 30.

Korean Minister for Trade Kim Jong-hoon and Peruvian Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism Martin Perez reached the deal in Lima after concluding the bilateral trade negotiations.

The two trade ministers announced the agreement in a joint statement at the presidential residence, Palacio de Gobierno, with Peruvian President Alan Garcia in attendance.

Earlier in the day, the two countries reached a broad agreement in the economic and trade sectors, including goods, trade remedies, investment, intellectual properties, government procurement, and economic cooperation at the ministerial meeting and the fifth trade negotiation meetings.

Korean Minister for Trade Kim Jong-hoon (right) and his Peruvian counterpart Martin Perez announce the joint statement in Lima on Aug. 30 after reaching the free trade agreement between Korea and Peru. (Photo: Yonhap News)

Earlier in the day, the two countries reached a broad agreement in the economic and trade sectors, including goods, trade remedies, investment, intellectual properties, government procurement, and economic cooperation at the ministerial meeting and the fifth trade negotiation meetings.

Both countries agreed to eliminate tariffs in all trade goods within ten years. According to the agreement, all tariffs levied on Korean televisions and automobiles with 3000cc engines or larger will be removed immediately after the free trade deal goes into effect. Tariffs levied on medium-size cars and smaller cars will be lifted within five years and ten years, respectively. Tariffs levied on Korean refrigerators and washing machines will be also removed within four years and ten years, respectively.

The two countries agreed that tariffs levied on 202 Peruvian agricultural produces, except 107 items sensitive for the Korean market, including rice, beef, chilly, and garlic, will be removed after ten years when the free trade deal takes effect.

Under the agreement, tariffs on frozen, favored, or boiled squid, Peru’s main export item, will be removed within ten years. Tariffs levied on Peruvian coffee will be lifted immediately after the free trade deal goes into effect. Tariffs levied on Peruvian asparagus and bananas will be removed within three to five years, according to the agreement.

The two countries also agreed on a safeguard system which raises tariffs to the level of "most-favored-nation" (MFN) if local industries of either are seriously hurt by tariff elimination or reductions due to the free trade deal.

Korea decided to introduce the safeguard system for agricultural products, including chicken, unsweetened condensed milk, and honey if Peruvian agricultural products exceed the import limit. The two countries also agreed to establish a committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) in order to strengthen bilateral cooperation on sanitation and quarantine.

Korea and Peru agreed to extend the copyright protection terms to life of the author plus 70 years from 50 years to strengthen intellectual property rights. The two countries also agreed to open their government procurement and private sector investment markets.

In the joint statement, the two countries agreed that the Korea-Peru FTA is "mutually beneficial" and "creates an institutional framework and favorable environment for trade and investment between the parties." They further agreed to "promptly proceed with the initialing, signing, and other follow-up actions, to bring the Korea-Peru FTA into effect," according to the statement.

Korea and Peru struck the deal after holding three meetings of trade ministers and four official bilateral trade negotiations over the course of two years.

Commemorative coins issued for Seoul G20 Summit Meeting

The face symbolizes Korea’s new position as a global leader, showing Gwanghwamun Gate (Right, actual size)

The reverse reads “Shared Growth Beyond Crisis” and features a cheongsachorong (Right, actual size)

The Bank of Korea will issue commemorative coins celebrating G20 Seoul Summit on November 3rd. The coins will bear the phrase “G20 Seoul Summit” to promote Korea and its successful hosting of the summit.

The 5th G20 Summit, which will be held on November 11th and 12th, is a diplomatically and economically important meaningful event, as well as an unusual one, since Korea is not a G8 member state.

The G20 Seoul Summit 2010 silver proof coin’s face value is 30,000 KRW, is 99.9% silver, and has a diameter of 33mm and weights 19g.

The face symbolizes Korea’s new position as a global leader, showing Gwanghwamun Gate, which was recently reopened to the public for Independence Day on Aug. 15th. The reverse reads “Shared Growth Beyond Crisis” and features a cheongsachorong, a traditional lantern, symbolizing the role the G20 Summit aspires to take as a light to guide the world economy.

Five thousand coins, which will be available abroad, are slated for release starting Nov. 8th.

source:Korea.net