The 2008 Muju Firefly Festival starts this weekend in picturesque Muju, a little over an hour west of Daegu. Should be a great weekend to see that part of country.
From June 13-15, there will be an English expo held at EXCO in Daegu. Over 70 kiosks set up from local hagwons, English villages, the local government will also be there to explain more information about Lee Myungbak’s new English Education policies. Also will be many booths showing off the latest multimedia and online sites for learning English, plus workshops run by foreign teachers. Local TV celebrities will be in attendance, such as Catherine Baillie from Misuda.
Regardless if you are a teacher or student, this expo will likely have something for everyone. And if you are a teacher, remember to bring your personalized business cards to hand out for networking/scooping privates.
Daegu has various churches that offer English-speaking mass and services, but few are more notable for their community outreach and volunteering spirit than Namsan Church, which tends to attract Daegu-ites from all backgrounds ranging from Koreans to migrant factory workers from SE Asian countries to English teachers. A great way to get involved with the local Daegu community, make friends, while helping those in need.
The biggest expat organized event to hit Daegu is happening this weekend. The Eternal Reflections art competition and wrap party this weekend at Club That. The main coordinators are two local expats named Ed and Scott, who have passed on some background on how the event came to be and the hard work done to pull it off:
Scott
The idea for the show started as soon as I arrived in Korea 3 years ago. I had just finished traveling around India for 3 months and had taken tons of pictures I wanted to share my experience with others, but couldn’t find the right venue. I tried going to galleries myself, but the language barrier and my amateur status prevented me from getting a show. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but my friends that have seen some of my pictures think they are quite professional. Then again, they’re probably just being polite. LOL<_> So, I was a bit dejected by the obstacle that had been laid down before me.
I stopped thinking about showing my work for a while and started to fall into the swing of things in Daegu. Meeting new people and making new friends slowing began filling up my time. But as I met more and more people, I found that many teachers who were here had a liberal arts or art backgrounds. Who says a BA in Art and Literture is worthless – in Korea you can be a millionaire with this degree! We all shared a common love and common problem. How do we share our art with people in Korea? There aren’t many places willing to give foreign amateur artists a chance to show their work in Daegu. The last art event I remember was at Communes about 2 years ago. Since then I haven’t heard or been to another foreigner held art event in Daegu.
My goal had now been changed, instead of just finding a place to show my work; I wanted to help others who had amazing talents locked away waiting to emerge. So, let’s fast forward to 3 months ago. I had started a Facebook group site: Daegu Artists and set up the rules to the competition and exhibition. I chose to do a competition because competitions are fun. And I like FUN! But there was no way I could pull something off this big by myself. So I asked Edward Pye, Hami and Yuri to help me. Hami and Yuri are Korean friends that I had meant late last year. They are in charge of the Korean side because they speak Korean very well. It helps that they are both from Daegu. Everyone has played a huge role in the development of Reflections Eternal or Eternal Reflections. We had decided to change the name after I had already named it. But it swings both ways quite easily.
The show begins May 28th with an opening spoken word competition. There will be free wine and cheese from 10 PM till it runs out. It runs for 4 days. On May 31st, there will be live music rocking Club That till dawn the next day. The music starts at 8 PM and finishes around 3 AM, June 1st. We Need Surgery (Seoul) is headlining, along with a jazz band, 2 bands (Zentaffy and Peanut) from Daegu and Galaxy Express (Seoul). Tickets are being sold at Club That or email daeguartists@gmail.com. Winners of the competition will also be announced and prizes will be given away.
The idea for the competition is that people will come and vote on art pieces in the competition and enjoy the gallery pieces submitted by the artists. We will have ballots ready and an usher to help people with the process. This is quite a new idea for Koreans and even foreigners. Regular people voting on art, instead of a panel of selected judges. This provides a more interactive feeling to the show and allows people to become part of the experience. We have other activities lined up as well, but you have to come and see for yourself. I can’t give away all the surprises.
The art show is being held at Club That in downtown Daegu. The owner, Mr. Hwang, has been very helpful. He rents the 3rd and 4th floor out to other artists in Daegu. His manager, Andray, is great. He has been a huge asset for our project! We wanted to bring a cleaner feeling to the 4th floor of Club That, so we have invested an enormous amount of time and money to renovating the place. All in the name of ART!
Ed
I’m originally from Auckland, New Zealand and have been living in Korea for the past 6 years teaching at Daegu University. I came over straight out of University where I studied English and Marketing.
I’ve had no formal training in any art field but I do have an artistic urge and I dabble in just about every art form – I have recently become interested in video art but always need to check myself to get back to my writing – which I consider my strength and a future path.The art comp was originally Scott’s idea – he had set up a facebook page last year but had never really got it going. I had been writing for expat arts magazine (now called 3C magazine) and knew Scott from when we worked together at a previous hagwon – I contacted him about setting dates and the comp grew from there.
We have now formed an events company called Blank Canvas Entertainment (which Scott can do because of his Korean roots) and along with 2 local Korean girls (hami, who owns a western restaurant and Yuri, an employee of the Daegu culture magazine) we have been coordinating the comp together.
In the past 2 months we have hooked up sponsors, advertising and around 35 artists who will be competing and we have completely refurbished the 4th floor of Daegu’s club THAT including laying concrete and painting…its been a bit of a mission but enjoyable.
We could spend the next week combing through and writing about all the upcoming nationwide expat events, but as we are currently focusing on building out the online magazine for Daegu at the moment, these events will be catered to expats living in this area, plus some other notable ones elsewhere in the country.
Current
Dongseongno Festival (Dongseongno)
Haebangchon Festival (Haebangchon)
Upcoming
Reflections Eternal: Daegu art competition (Club That) – Wed., May 28 – Sun., June 1
Michael White Fundraiser (Thunderbird Lounge) – Friday, May 30
Eternal Reflections Party (Club That)- Saturday, May 31
The 90s Party (Club That)- Saturday, May 31
A Common Cause (Wolfhound in Itaewon) – Saturday, May 31
Haeundae Sand Festival (Haeundae Beach) – Thurs., June 5 – Sun. June 8
(The annual Dongseongno Festival is this weekend in downtown Daegu. Expect nothing but the finest of ridiculously crowded streets filled with gawkers watching all the dancing and singing, calligraphy artists, and cosmetic booths. If you’re not into that sort of thing and want to get away from the commotion of downtown, remember that a great area to eat and get your drink on, is only 10 minutes taxi ride away.
Currently playing at Dongseong Art Hall.
Vitus (Note: This is a Swiss movie, so I’m guessing that you’ll be lost, unless you can understand German or read Korean subtitles)
