Curing cabin fever with May festivals

While the yellow dust season is finally subsiding, a different seasonal ailment is hitting the Korean Peninsula: cabin fever. But don`t worry - it`s completely treatable, especially with a number of outdoor events organized for May. Plenty of festivals next month will give the chance to get out of the house.



Hi Seoul! Festival

April 30-May 5

Starting a little early is the "Hi Seoul Festival," which runs from April 30 to May 5 at various venues near the Seoul Plaza, across the street from City Hall. The festival aims to celebrate the capital city and its citizens. The 2005 Hi Seoul fest will also mark the year the Cheonggyecheon Stream Restoration Project is completed and the newly landscaped Seoul Forest, a 19,836 square-meter plot of land in Ttukseom that is to be reserved for a new green area for the city. The festival will also allow people to get out on the streets to enjoy sampling food, try calligraphy, and a variety of other activities.

Hi Seoul starts on April 30, 5:30 p.m. with the pre-festival celebration at the Seoul Plaza. Starting at 7:30 p.m., singer Cho Yong-pil will perform a number of songs, including his beloved "Seoul, Seoul, Seoul" and a new song written to commemorate the restoration of Cheonggyecheon.

Later on in the evening, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., there will be an outdoor "Dance Mania in Seoul" party in Myeong-dong featuring DJs and turntables. The party includes a mixing context, electronic dance party and an exhibition of media works. Additional activities during the festival include a hanbok show, a women`s marathon and cycling rally, and a flea market near Deoksugung. For the full schedule of events or more information, visit www.hiseoulfest.org.



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Lotus Lantern Festival

May 8

Buddha will be the guest of honor at the Lotus Lantern Festival on May 8 in Seoul. A number of activities are organized for the event, which celebrates peace and marks the 2,549th anniversary of Buddha`s birth on May 15.

The festival begins at noon on May 8, in front of Jogyesa Temple. Visitors can enjoy traditional Korean folk music, traditional Korean games and activities such as top-spinning, yut and chilgyo. They can also write wish notes and practice making prints from woodblocks.

Foreigners can also try their hand at making lanterns. The International Dharma Instructors Association is inviting applications for the lantern-making session. A winner for best lantern will receive a prize and all participants will receive a souvenir. Applications are limited to 150 and are on a first-come basis.

Lantern makers can later take their creations onto the streets and participate in an evening parade following the afternoon street festival. A lighting ceremony, where 30,000 lanterns throughout downtown Seoul will be lit, takes place at 7 p.m. with the Ven. Bup Jang, president of the Jogye Order and Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak expected to participate. A concert will take place after the ceremony, with performances by samulnori musician Kim Duk-su, Jang Saik and Shin Hyo-beom, as well as pop singers.

To register for the lotus lantern making session, contact Kim Yun-hee of the International Dharma Instructors Association at (02) 722-2206. To download an application or for more information, visit www.llf.or.kr.




May 10-28 /b>

The Uijeongbu Music Theater Festival at the Uijeongbu Arts Center aims to introduce the latest in musical theater to ordinary audiences and experts. The music theater festival program covers works from several genres, including experimental theater performances as well as mass-appeal musicals.

Six overseas groups and five Korean groups form the principal lineup of this year`s festival. The event kicks off with a performance of "Spartacus," by the National Academic Ballet Theater of Belarus, a prestigious ballet troupe in a former part of the Soviet Union. One of the main highlights of the festival is famed German director Thomas Ostermeier`s first performance in Korea with "Wunschkonzert." Staged by the Berlin-based troupe Schaubuhne Am Lehniner Platz, "Request Concert" was written by Franz Xaver Kroetz as a play without dialogue that charts the excruciatingly dull daily routines of a woman`s life. Other performers include the French traveling troupe Footsbarn`s performance of "The Tempest," the Czech National Marionette Theater`s "Don Giovanni," and Korea`s chef noisemakers, Nanta.

A number of outdoor performances have been planned in addition to those staged within the Uijeongbu Arts Center. Marching band tunes, samulnori and Korean classical music will be performed on the center`s outdoor concert stage.

Tickets can be purchased through ticketlink (www.ticketlink.co.kr/1588-7890) or through ticketpark (www.ticketpark.com/1544-1555). For the festival schedule and more information, visit www.umtf.or.kr.

(imoon@heraldm.com)



By Iris Moon