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Hallyu fans in the capital city of India had an enthralling experience with the 2022 Korea Street Fair and the Korean Film Festival, held from November 11-13.
The 2022 Korea Fair was organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea while the New Delhi Korean Film Festival was presented by the Korean Cultural Centre, India, at Basant Lok Market, PVR Priya.
A part of the celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of ROK-India diplomatic relations in 2023, the Korea fair was a wonderful opportunity for Indian fans to enjoy Korean culture through Korean food stalls, a Korean cultural experience zone, and a Korean-themed photo zone.
SK Pop's Kumari Khushboo had an opportunity to attend the event and interact with fans, organizers, and officials to learn more about their experience at one of the biggest Korean events in India.
The 3-day event witnessed Delhi residents enjoying Basant Lok Market Street, decorated in an exotic Korean style with red and blue lanterns. That apart, the decorations also included rainwater lighting with the fall flower festival vibe, and a photo zone featuring Korean tile and grate design.
Attendees also had an opportunity to wear a hanbok and participate in traditional fan and lantern making. The fair also had numerous public relations booths with Korean companies such as Orion.
A glimpse of the 2022 Korean Film Festival and Korea Street Fair
The Korean Film Festival was officially inaugurated by H.E. Chang Jae-bok, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India. Professor Bijayalaxmi Nanda, the principal of Miranda House at the University of Delhi, was also a special guest for the event.
The event was also free. All Korean Film Festival attendees had to do was show a free pass at the entry, which could be downloaded from the Korean Culture Centre India's website.
The Korean Cultural Centre India held the Korean Film Festival as part of the celebration to mark the 10th Anniversary of its opening. The first-ever Korean Film Festival in the capital city of India won hearts with a screening of 10 renowned and award-winning films. The films chosen for the festival were selected masterpieces by representative Korean film directors.
The chosen films did not just portray the emotional and action side of Korean cinema but also included bold themes. One such film was The Handmaiden, which shed light on the LGBTQ community.
There was also a public survey conducted through which the audience was able to choose some of the films that they would like to enjoy during the festival. The list of films being screened included multiple animated titles.
On Day 1, the festival started with a screening of The Handmaiden directed by Park Chan-wook.
The Handmaiden is a tale of love, desire, and goals with an intriguing set characters portrayed by some of the most renowned actors in the Korean film industry, including Kim Tae-ri and Kim Min-hee.
The festival also included special screenings of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...Spring, a film depicting Korea's beauty, and directed by Kim Ki-duk.
It was also the first time in India that the audience enjoyed The Novelist’s film by Hong Sang-soo.
Untold Scandal by E J-yong was also on the list of screenings but was canceled due to some issues.
Oscar-winning director Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite was also one of the major attractions for Hallyu fans visiting the festival. Another film that was loved by Indian audiences was Yeun Sang-ho's Train to Busan, a thrilling zombie genre with breathtaking cinematography that already has a lot of fans in India. The film includes several noted actors, key among them being Gong Yoo.
Park Hoon-jung’s New World - starring Lee Jung-jae - was chosen by the audience for screening at the Korean Film Festival, but eventually had to be canceled.
The festival included Oh Sung-yoon’s Leafie, a Hen into the Wild recognized as a representative work of Korean Animation. Yeun Sang-ho’s The King of Pigs was also part of the festival.
Speaking about the theme of the Korean Film Festival, Hwang Il Yong, the director of the Korean Cultural Centre India said:
“This Korean film festival was also planned under the theme of exploring the inner conscious and unconscious world.”
During the festival, viewers were also given a booklet which worked as a guide to the films featured in the festival, as it had synopses of all the films with related visuals. It was also more informative because of the director’s interview and production notes included for each film.
The booklet was informative and had details about the behind-the-scenes of the various films, and the perspective of their respective creators.
“There was a really great response from the Indian Hallyu fans”: Korean Film Festival and Korea Street Fair 2022 captivated the Indian audience
The events in Delhi mostly had teenagers and adults in attendance, partly due to age restrictions for a few film screenings.
SK Pop's Kumari Khushboo had an opportunity to speak to Sandhya Jayal, the Program Senior Assistant from the Korean Culture Centre India, Embassy of the Republic of Korea. Speaking of her experience while organizing the event, Jayal said:
“There was a really great response from the Indian Hallyu fans, especially for Train to Busan. We have been preparing for the Korean Film Festival for around 4 weeks. We are happy that the fans are enjoying the event. We also hope that we get really great responses in future events as well.”
When asked about the possibility of other future Korean events being organized for Indian Hallyu fans, Jayal said:
“We might be having such Korean events in a few other states as well. We also have a lot of Korean events lined up for this year and next year in India, and we hope the fans will have a really great experience attending them.”
We also spoke to fans who shared their utmost enthusiasm for the event. One attendee mentioned:
“We are having a good experience here. The films were really good and wearing Korean hanbok was fascinating too. The Korean lanterns were also beautiful and overall we are loving the event.”
Samiya, an ardent K-pop enthusiast, spoke about the films and the food at the event. She said:
“I had fun watching the films. They have also organized it well. The Korean food was also good, especially Tteokbokki. The decorations are very pretty and it gives me a sense of the Korean vibes.”
This is not the first time that Delhi is hosting a Korean culture event. Previously, Hallyu fans in Delhi got a chance to enjoy Rang De Korea, one of India’s biggest Korean festivals, which featured talented Korean groups performing at the event.
India has seen a growing Korean wave since 2017 and currently has one of the highest numbers of BTS and BLACKPINK fans as well.
The country has previously also witnessed breathtaking live performances from Korean groups and artists such as AleXa, KARD, KINGDOM, BugAboo, K-Tigers, ID Fusion Band, IN2IT, VAV, MONT, Snuper, LUCENTE.
Meanwhile, K-pop group GOT7’s Jackson Wang will be performing in Mumbai in 2023, as part of the Lollapalooza India Festival. Let us know in the comments what you would like to see in future Hallyu events.
