La Cañada celebrates Korean culture
Trays of bulgogi, kimchi and tasty desserts were flowing around Memorial Park on Saturday, Sept. 10, and the sounds coming from the the gazebo reflected everything from traditional drums and classic music all the way to K-POP during the second annual Korean Cultural Festival.
Harvest Day, or Chu-Seok, is celebrated on Sept. 15. Long ago, Korean ancestors, mostly farmers, celebrated the good harvest in the fall after the crops were brought in, with dances, music and many traditional games, according to Steve Park, who was involved in the planning of the La Cañada event. Families and villagers would gather under the full moon to thank the heavens, encourage each other for all the efforts, and share cultural harmony.
The festival was organized by the Korean American Federation of North Los Angeles (KAFNLA), which represents residents from La Cañada, Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, Arcadia, La Crescenta and Tujunga. The event was sponsored by the Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles, Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles and the Overseas Koreans Foundation.
Park said the goal for this year’s festival was to celebrate the traditional Korean Harvest Day together with family, friends and neighbors, and to share food, games, entertainment and Korean cultural performances. Cultural education for the younger generations is also a key component.
Frank Kim, chairman of KAFNLA, estimated approximately 1,000 attended the festival. The opening ceremony including several remarks, a speech by Sung Il Lee, president of KAFNLA, congratulatory messages from Ambassador Key Choel Lee, consulate general of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), and Paula Devine, mayor of Glendale. Next, there was a special presentation by students honoring 10 Korean War veterans. Following the ceremony, there were two sessions of programming, featuring 17 different events.
Kim said the Korean Drum, performed by Seo Ryoung Lee, director of the Gorue Korean Traditional Group, and the traditional percussion performance Samul Nori, are popular. Kim added that the northern L.A. territory covered by the federation serves a Korean-American population of approximately 20,000.
“This is great for the community,” he said. “We hope to keep it going here at Memorial Park.”
A circle of KAFNLA youth members and friends sat on the lawn enjoying the music and joked around.
“I love learning about Korean culture,” said Wesley Choy, of La Cañada. “I love that they are playing modern KPOP.”
The KPOP was performed by La Cañada High School students.
“How am I supposed to play Pokemon Go?” joked Choy’s friend Thomas Hoh, noting the poor Wi-Fi connection in Memorial Park.
La Cañada resident and Korean War veteran Jack Wunderlich said he was going to try some bulgogi. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a staff sergeant and toured Korea in 1952.
Sherry and Richard Bame sat in lawn chairs near the gazebo, enjoying bulgogi. Richard Bame served in the Korean War from 1951 to 1953 in the U.S. Navy as a seaman first class. He was stationed on a destroyer off the coast of present day North Korea, and he saw a lot of military action.
He is currently a local historian and is a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1614 and American Legion Post 288.
Looking across Memorial Park, at a sea of L.A. residents of different cultures, and many Korean families, Bame said there was more culture demonstrated at the festival in La Cañada than in Korea during the 1950s, due to the war.
“The war isn’t officially over,” he noted. “A lot of people don’t know.”
Bame added that the festival is great for the community, and they were at the first festival and plan to return for the third.
“It gives you a little taste of (the Korean) culture,” he said.
Matt Sanderson is a contributing writer.