Seoul Friendship Fair 2010 (9-10 May)

This is a very late post because I'm very busy with my graduation report ^^;

Usually in spring there's a special event called Hi Seoul Festival. But this year, the annual festival was postponed due to the national mourning. Instead, Seoul held an event called Seoul Friendship Fair during 2 days in Seoul Plaza. In there, we could see international traditional cultural performances and take a look at international booths that sold various souvenirs. When I got there at about 1 PM, the venue had already become crowded^^
I saw a lot of traditional dances including the performances from Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Azerbaijan, as well as other participating countries.

The gate. This fair took a whole street for its international food booths. It's very cool how we could walk through the street that's usually passed by cars, isn't it? ^^

 

I took a picture with Haechi, the mascot of Seoul city. Though it's cute, but in the legend Haechi is so fierce and is an ally of justice. Look at the children!^^ They playfully inserted their hands into Haechi's mouth^^

Indonesia's booth. Haha it stood out among the others because the booth used those Balinese ornaments.

Japan's traditional game and people wearing matsuri (festival) costume. Somehow I missed this view, because in Jakarta I often attended Japanese cultural events. Recently in Jakarta, Korean cultural events start to gain more popularity among youths thanks to Kpop and Kdrama.

People enjoying the foods at the gazebo built on a street. It was hot, but the event was so merry that we almost forgot the sunny weather.

Indonesia's food booth. Again the ornament made it stand out^^ 

The booth won the award for the Most Various Foods. Congrats!

The UK booth with lovely ladies wearing unique clothes. In other booths, we could also see the exhibitors wearing their own traditional clothes that are unique and exotic.

This Afghanistan's food was so delicious! No wonder that it became the winner for Best Food award.

Ah, the Friendship Fair was nice and enjoyable...I hope I can visit it again!

Thanks for reading ^_^

Seoul and Its Happy City Project

taken from here

According to the recent statistics of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the number of foreign residents of Seoul is estimated at around 250,000, taking up 2.5% of Seoul’s total population.

This is an increase by 100,000 people within the last 3 years – a stupendous increase, indeed. This signifies just how fast Seoul is turning into a global and multicultural city.

Then how satisfied are the over 250,000 international residents living in Seoul?

According to the survey conducted in November 2009 on foreigners who had been living in Seoul for more than one year, their degree of satisfaction scored 3.8 out of 5 points, which is an increase for three consecutive years.

Foreigners at “Hi Seoul Festival” (Flickr.com)

But of course, there are things to be improved. To that end, Seoul city has launched the “Happy City Project” which includes various support programs for foreigners in communication, multiculturalism, solving everyday problems and obstacles, and so on.

The project focuses on 15 foreigner-dense areas designated as “Global Zones” which include the Seoul City Hall area, Yeoksam, Samsung, Yeouido, Ichon, Itaewon, Hannam, Yeonnam, Seorae Village, Myeongdong, Insadong, Namdaemun, Dongdaemun, etc. 

Also, the construction of the “Global Cluster Building” will begin in May, which will include a one-stop help center for foreigners and chamber of commerce offices of various countries.

The “Global Business Help Center” will open in mid-May in COEX with the aim to help foreigners set up small to medium-sized businesses in Korea. And the on-site consultation service, where a batch of staff visits areas with high concentrations of foreigners, will be further streamlined.

Entrance to the Seoul Global Center

Last January, 14 additional multicultural family support centers opened in Seoul, which makes a total of 20 such centers. A web site (http://mcfamily.seoul.go.kr) designed to provide information on Seoul city and job vacancies for foreign spouses was launched in five languages including Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, English and Korean.

A support center for migrant workers has also been operating, providing Korean-language classes that put focus on industrial site-related vocabulary. There is also the International Student Forum, and the foreign students support desks at major universities that provide counseling and information on Korea for international students.

The Friendship Fair at “Hi Seoul Festival”

Various cultural performances will take place in Mugyo-dong “Global Street” near the Seoul City Hall, and flea markets for foreigners will be held at the Seoul Folk Flea Market in Sinseol-dong. Furthermore, the Seoul Help Center for Foreigners is going to sponsor 16 foreign community festivals including the Mongolian Naadam Festival and the Irish Folk Dance Festival.

For medical services, the current 11 medical centers for foreigners will be expanded to 17 by 2012, and a Global Open Health Center will be launched in Yeongdeungpo-gu and Geumcheon-gu districts in May, where treatments for pregnant women and infants from multicultural families will be provided.

Foreigners in the subway (Flickr.com)

In terms of public transportation, sign panels will be furnished in a number of foreign languages at every subway station, and so will the Seoul city subway map. Also, 26 administrative forms frequently filled out by foreigners will be translated into Chinese and Japanese in addition to English and Korean. Tax notices, too, will have its contents written in both Korean and English.

Likewise, Seoul city is making efforts to create a truly global Seoul that is a wonderful city not only for Koreans, but for all the foreign residents and visitors in it as well!

Happy Life, Seoul!

taken from here
Seoul, the largest city of the Republic of Korea with a population of over 10 million, became the capital of the country during the Joseon Dynasty (1394).

Since then it has become an undoubted global city where the 1986 Asian Games, the 1988 Summer Olympics, and the 2002 FIFA World Cup were held. And the city will host the G-20 Summit 2010 in November and the Nuclear Security Summit in 2012.

Let’s look into the quality of life of those living in Seoul. 

The Seoul Metropolitan Government published the result of a survey on Seoul, conducted on 20,000 households (46,153 people aged over 15) and 2,500 foreign residents in October 2009. According to the survey, the degree of satisfaction the subjects felt for their “Health Condition” and “Financial Condition” was found out to be increasing year after year.

“Residential Environment” scored 5.90 points (out of 10.00), “Social Environment” 5.40, “Economic Environment” 5.08, and “Educational Environment” 4.95, indicating a bit of an increase compared to the previous year (2008). In terms of “Public Transportations,” too, there was an increase of satisfaction by 0.22 points, and the safety of the city was also found out to be rising annually.

The volume of donation from the Seoulites has been expanding since 2006 despite the tough financial conditions, and so has the participation rate in volunteer work, suggesting the culture of volunteerism is spreading in Seoul.

Preparation for seniorhood is also in better shape, compared to the previous year. Senior population’s engagement in social activities on a regular basis is increasing, and the number of seniors who wish to live in senior housings instead of living on their own is rising.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will reflect these findings of the survey in its policy making.

Hope more and more people will come visit Seoul, a global city that doesn’t stop getting better!