Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| The ASEAN Culture House (ACH) in Busan will hold the 2020 Korea-ASEAN Craft Market, showcasing traditional and modern handmade artifacts from Southeast Asian countries. / Courtesy of ACH |
By Yi Whan-woo
A craft fair showcasing traditional and modern handmade artifacts from Southeast Asian countries and Korea will be held from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 at the ASEAN Culture House (ACH) in Busan.
Visitors can buy hundreds of craftworks being displayed at the 2020 Korea-ASEAN Craft Market.
The items will include household goods, fashion accessories and kitchenware made using weaving, dyeing or embroidering and other techniques.
"It will be an opportunity to learn and experience the crafts of ASEAN and Korea, and to indulge in the unique charm of the different crafts," ACH said. "If you feel frustrated these days about being unable to travel, please visit the 2020 Korea-ASEAN Craft Market to take a virtual journey to the ASEAN region."
Tasked with promotion of ASEAN cultures under the wing of the Korea Foundation (KF), a government-affiliated body, ACH will also run workshops during the three-day event for visitors to learn craftworks from craftspeople representing the 10 member nations of ASEAN as well as Korea.
The fair is aimed at nurturing ethnical and sustainable shopping for social responsibility and environmental protection. Accordingly, it will have social enterprises and fair trade companies from the ASEAN side.
In accordance with quarantine policy, the fair will be held outdoors, with visitors' safety as the top priority, the ACH said.
The ACH is separately running an exhibition of photos and video clips from various groups of ASEAN people, such as migrant wives, workers and students.
The exhibition, titled "Friendship Diary," features winning works of an annual contest ACH hosted in September to better understand perspectives of Southeast Asians living in Korea.
The exhibition at the ACH's Special Exhibition Gallery will run through Nov. 29.
It will also features works of photographer Lee Dong-geun and artist Hwang In-ji, both from Busan.
"Every artwork being displayed is about everyday people with different ethnic backgrounds. It helps visitors realize that who may seem foreign can in fact be your next-door neighbors," ACH said.
The ACH was set up in September 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of ASEAN's establishment.
It was also a part of the follow-up project of the 2014 ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit in Busan.
It has two underground floors and four stories above ground, featuring exhibition halls, a virtual reality and seminar rooms and a concert hall.
The ACH's objectives are to provide Koreans with accurate information about ASEAN, to deepen understanding between Koreans and Southeast Asians here, to initiate cultural and academic networks, to serve as a cultural and community center for ASEAN diplomatic missions and to promote ASEAN-related diplomatic cooperation for central and municipal governments.
