The following is from previous year.

Please visit this page for this year's celebration.

Korean martial arts, traditional dancers, regal apparel and spectacular floats will be on dazzling display at the 29th annual Korean Parade & Festival on Saturday, October 3. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will serve as Grand Marshal for the parade, which is expected to draw a Who’s Who of New York politics, industry and culture. Approximately 200 organizations and up to 5,000 participants are expected to march down Sixth Avenue from 41st Street to 21st Street beginning at 12:00 pm. until 2:00 p.m. The event, themed “Cooperation and Peace in Troubled Times,” is organized by the Korean-American Association of Greater New York (KAAGNY) with the support of the Korea Times. The event is sponsored by the Overseas Koreans Foundation and the Korean Culture Service NY.

“The Korean people are peaceful, and take great pride in the fact that we have never invaded another country. On October 3, we are calling on all New Yorkers to join us in the Korean concept of jeong, a word meaning love, compassion, humanity and connection…for life,” said KAAGNY President Yonghwa Ha, who heads the umbrella group for the 1,000 Korean business, religious, artistic, sports and civic groups representing the approximately 500,000 Koreans living in the New York metropolitan area. “With businesses and people hurting locally and world affairs in turmoil, we must unite in a spirit of cooperation, recognizing that enduring bond between us. We invite all to come out and to wear the color blue both in tribute to Korea and in the spirit of peace.” 

The first wave of Korean immigrants came to the United States in 1903. In the 1920s some Korean students who had come to Columbia University and other area colleges founded KAAGNY. While many of these students returned to Korea to return to head up institutions in South Korea after independence from Japan in 1945, many others remained in New York to rise to prominence in fields such as business, arts, law, religion, media and medicine. Many Koreans are entrepreneurs; in fact, according to the New York Times, in 2000, nearly one quarter (24 percent) of area Korean immigrants were self-employed. With a strong network of Korean media and Christian religious organizations, Korean-Americans are politically organized, particularly surrounding business issues. Approximately 500,000 Korean-Americans now live in New York and the surrounding areas. 

The day’s activities will culminate with the Korean Music Festival at 32nd Street and 5th Avenue, headlined by acclaimed Korean-American electric violinist Eugene Park. The Juilliard-trained musical innovator, who made his professional debut at age 13 at Lincoln Center, seamlessly melds classical traditions with popular music. Described in 1993 by William Grimes in The New York Times as “Paganini with a few dashes of Pete Townshend thrown in,” Park has gone on to record two CDs for Sony Music, selling more than one million copies.

The Music Festival, which runs from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. will also include appearances by Vongku Pak’s Blue & White: Korean Fused Band, which merges traditional Korean rhythm with that of other cultures; Kwon Jeon, the #2 ranked soccer freestylist; the Korean-American Youth Chamber Orchestra, a 25-piece orchestra performing well-known Korean classics; and Su Lee, a New York-based pop singer. Attendees will enjoy dance performances by the Song Hee Lee Dance Company, the Cheongsah Chorong Company, Naru Korean Traditional Performing Art Dance Company, the Jung Hyesun Traditional Dance Company, the Woori Garak Dance Academy, the Korean Traditional Music & Dance Institute of New York, and Korean Traditional Dance of Choomnoori (Korean traditional puppet dance). The Korean Channel (TKC) will host the TKC Singing Contest; this year for the first time New Yorkers can take their chance at singing Korean songs for prizes including a round-trip ticket to Korea.  

A great family event, the Korean Parade & Festival will include a wide variety of activities for children at their Kids Korner on Broadway between 31st and 33rd Streets from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Activities will include face painting, Korean dancing and drumming and entertainment by clowns. Youngsters will also be able to dress as the Korean kings and queens used to in resplendent regal costumes and witness a demonstration of the traditional marriage ceremony.

The delightful Korean culinary creations of more than 40 vendors will be showcased at the Korean Food Festival, a street fair being held on 32nd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. Among the popular Korean cuisines available for purchase will include kalbi (BBQ short ribs), bibim gooksoo (spicy mixed noodles), bulgogi (grilled marinated beef), bibimbap (beef and mixed vegetable rice), japchae (beef and vegetable vermicelli noodles) and kimchi (fermented chili pepper cabbage). The Korean Food festival runs from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.