On Tuesday, August 16 from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, the Korean Cuisine Globalization Committee (President: Ja Bun Kwak) is presenting The 2nd Annual Korea Day at Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park (located south of Bethesda Terrace between 66th and 72nd Streets). Korea Day is a free New York City event portraying all aspects of Korean culture from food to music. This year’s event will have a fantastic combination of traditional and pop Korean culture and will give New York residents and visitors an extraordinary opportunity to be at one with Korean food and culture.

The day-long event begins with a welcoming ceremony at 11:30 am featuring Sorea, a Korean band that plays modern Korean traditional music. Throughout the day there will also be a Korean Food Exhibition where people can sample free Korean food specialties such as Bulgogi & Ssam (beef in a soy sauce marinade), Jeyuk Gui & Ssam (pork in a red pepper paste marinade), Japchae (stir fried potato noodles with vegetables), Tteokbokki (rice cake in red pepper paste), Bibimbap (rice with vegetables and beef), Jeon (Korean pancake), and of course the staple Korean condiment Kimchi.

In addition, there will be a chance to experience ‘dduk-mea chi-gi’ the process of making dduk, Korean rice cake where the rice cake is beaten with a giant wooden hammer to make it more adhesive, ‘Making Kimchi,’ and ‘Giant bi-bim bob’ (bi-bim bob will be produced in a giant bowl with all the ingredients, and people will get to mix it and taste it). There will also be booths set up to display traditional Korean sauces and condiments, which will provide basic knowledge of how they are used. The Korean Culture Exhibition is also planning to set up a booth for people to try on Hanbok (Korean traditional clothes).

Also part of the festivities will be the first ever K-POP Contest hosted by the Korean New York Culture Committee and allkpop.com, specially sponsored by Asiana Airlines. Attendees are invited to participate and compete in this display of singing and dancing. Contestants will be able to participate online through You Tube, and after careful consideration, eight teams will perform and compete live at the Central Park outdoor stage. The first place team will win a free round-trip ticket to Korea and be given the chance to compete in the K-POP contest in Korea on November 26th. Throughout the day, Camerata Virtuosi NJ will be playing classical music, and Sorea will take the stage once more for the closing ceremony.