County’s Korean Community Opens ‘World as One’ Festival

Carnival lights twinkled, meat sizzled and dancers twirled Friday as the 1991 Korean Festival of Orange County kicked off for the weekend in what is now the third-largest Korean commercial district in the nation.

In fact, the festival itself--held on Garden Grove Boulevard in a shopping complex between Brookhurst and Gilbert streets--has helped to attract more than 1,000 Korean-owned businesses to the boulevard, organizers said.

The restaurants and shops in turn drew more Korean residents to the county, where there are now more than 35,000, according to the 1990 Census.

To promote this year’s theme of “World as One,” the ninth annual festival featured for the first time an international folk music and dance show. Held Friday night, the show offered dances from the country-Western, Korean, Vietnamese, Mexican, Chinese and East Indian traditions.

“We’re trying to tear down the walls between the ethnic groups,” said Michael Kim, chairman of the festival organizing committee for this year. He is a member of the Korean Chamber of Commerce of Orange County, which is organizing the 1991 celebration with The Korea Central Daily newspaper.

The festival includes more than 40 red-and-white booths for the open-air market, which offer Korean food, crafts, jewelry and even furniture. Around the booths are carnival rides--complete with a Ferris wheel and a super slide. In the middle of the square created by the booths, workers have set up close to 1,500 white chairs in front of a stage for the evening performances.

“It’s a good idea for the Korean people to gather in the same place and share their culture,” 25-year-old Christine Oh of Fullerton said as she toured the booths with her family.

The shopping complex where the celebration is being held is known as Seoul Plaza, where the Korean commercial district began in the county, according to Jonathan Heo, a staff writer for The Korea Central Daily.

Today, the festival opens at 10 a.m. with a Korean chess tournament, a speech contest in English and Korean at noon, a short marathon at 1 p.m. and a Tae Kwon Do demonstration at 2:30 p.m.

At 3 p.m., a parade with two dozens floats, clowns and marching bands will begin at Brookhurst Street and proceed to Magnolia Street, according to organizers. About 6 p.m., a youth-talent contest is scheduled on the stage.

On Sunday, the carnival and open-air market will open at 9 a.m. Other scheduled activities include a Korean wrestling tournament at 1 p.m., a senior citizen talent show at 5 p.m. and a variety show featuring top-name Korean singers at 7 p.m.

The annual festivities are a celebration of the Korean heritage and a way to acquaint others with Korean customs, said Kathy Moore, Garden Grove’s administrative services manager.

As the festival attracts more businesses, it also benefits the city, she said.

“Garden Grove Boulevard, for a lot of reasons such as the opening of the Garden Grove Freeway, needed some revitalization,” Moore explained. “The Korean community has done a good job of that.”