“Andong is a city where diverse cultures in Korean history, including Confucianism, Buddhism, and traditional folk culture, naturally permeate the trend of the times, showing the evolution of modernized tradition,” said the mayor of Andong City, Young-sae Kweon, in an interview with Los Angeles Times Asia Journal.
Andong is a delightful city in North Gyeongsang Province near Nakdong River and is rich with diverse Korean traditional sites where some illustrious state guests visited. Queen Elizabeth II of England visited Andong in 1999, Prince Andrew in 2019, 20 years later, and former President Bush and his wife visited Andong in 2005.
The unique experience which Andong provides attracts lots of people. The city has four UNESCO-listed sites, including Hahoe Folk Village, Byeongsan-seowon, Dosan-seowon, and Bongjeongsa Temple. A documentary heritage named “Confucian Printing Woodblocks in Korea”, is also located in Andong, which is designated as the Memory of UNESCO for its world significance as a symbol of the learning of the sages. If ‘Hahoe Byeolsingut talnori’, which is a Korean masked dance drama played in Andong as a special ritual to the gods, is successfully enlisted as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO, Andong would become a city which has possess not only aforementioned World Heritage sites and Memory of the World but also Intangible Cultural Heritage.
According to the mayor, the city is heavily engaged in the development of culture, art, and tourism. Amid the pandemic, “World Heritage in Andong: Future Value for Humanity” ended in great success from September 4th to 26th. It was held both online and offline. Varied programs — a traditional firework performance in Hahoe Folk Village, a concert at Dosan-seowon, a three-day stay at the Confucian academy, Byeongsan-Seowon, a joint contemporary dance performance between a Korean ballet company and Russia’s Mariinsky Ballet based on the legend surrounding the creation of Hahoe masks <Lotus Love> — amped up the mood at the festivities. The festival was well-received by the audience. “This event became a chance for me to be reminded of our common roots and spirits from the cultural heritage which was made even 600 years ago. It was so unique to be traditional-themed,” said one visitor with his family from Seoul.
The city government also put in so much work to develop traditional culture programs for the younger generation. The government conducts some hands-on programs which can bring harmony and share the common roots between generations. Furthermore, it is expanding its partnerships with other cities at home and abroad in order to scale up its tourism infrastructure. It has established partnerships with seven cities at home and nine cities from six countries abroad.
“We will develop a sustainable tourism model to maintain the traditional lifestyle and develop our own unique value,” said the mayor Kweon with confidence. He also showed his expectation about listing of ‘Hahoe Byeolsingut talnori’ as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO, which will establish the city as an art, history, and culture mecca for those interested in traditional Confucian culture in Joseon-Dynasty.
Matthew Kwak
Asia Journal
