Korean history, fashion and music on display for Culture Night

After more than six months of planning, organizing and rehearsing, the seventh annual Culture Night hosted by the Korean Student Union (KSU) and the Korean Student Association (KSA) debuted on Saturday amid a kaleidoscope of music, dance and fashion.

More than 60 students were involved in the event, including officers from both KSU and KSA, as well as student volunteers recruited from various Korean language classes.

“Everyone has to be proud of their culture,” said senior Albert Lim, president of KSU. “It’s a good chance to be a part of the community, and it connects people to their school.”

The event was a chance for KSU and KSA to work together, Lim said.

KSA is made up primarily of second- or third-generation Korean-American students, whereas KSU is Korean language-based and largely comprising international students.

“We’re showing off our culture to both second-generation students, Koreans at our school and random people who are interested in our culture,” Lim said. “People can learn with a book, they can learn with movies, but this event really boosts people and motivates them and shows them they can learn from events that are right here in Seattle.”

Performances included historical Korean drum music, as well as a fusion of modern and traditional music. Korean immigrant Mary Nam, from KOMO 4 news station, was the keynote speaker. The event also included Taekwondo demonstrations, a skit and a fashion show highlighting traditional and current Korean wear.

Sophomore Heewon Lim, an officer of KSU, co-directed the fashion show. Lim saw Culture Night last year and knew she wanted to become more involved. Her goal is to one day become the director of fashion shows, so planning the Korean fashion show made sense to her.

“I’m excited,” Lim said before the event. “Mostly, this is our chance to tell people who don’t know about Korea, to learn about Korea.”

Lim recruited members for the fashion show from her Korean language class.

“It was chaos and not very organized,” Lim said of the rehearsal with the fashion show volunteers, who wore clothing from 1500s Korea and modern schoolboy and girl outfits.

Blending traditional and modern was a theme of the night.

“It was challenging to balance and preserve the historical, but make (the event) modern,” said Susie Han, vice president of KSA.

The student-run event received funding from the ASUW, as well as donations from local Korean restaurants and businesses. Rehearsals for the show varied from every day to twice a week since winter break.

“I want to credit the officers who worked really hard on the event,” Han said.

Albert Lim echoed her sentiments.

“It’s a little bit stressful every year,” said Lim, who has been involved with Culture Night for four years now. “But we’re not forcing people to be professionals; we want them to have fun and have a good time.”