Korean Culture Goes Global
By Jack D. Suss

Min-Sok means [Korean] “folk culture.” This year, in addition to the regular celebration of folk culture, the Intercultural Institute of California (IIC) presented a scholarly dialogue on its theme, Korean Culture Goes Global: Technology, Tradition, Transculturalism. The May 26 event followed a graduation ceremony in which one Master of Arts degree in Korean studies was awarded to Dan Eugene Wahl, and diplomas and certificates were handed out for successful completion of ESL and computer program courses, as well as for the Korean Language and Culture program.

The celebration included performances by “Woo Dang” Chang Lai Lee, one of the featured artists who doubled as a “dan-so” (flute) player. Lee performed short, snippet-like folk and children’s tunes on this traditional Korean bamboo instrument. This was followed by Korean modern dance performed by Jung Hae Yoo. Yoo was a long-time member of the prestigious Hak Moo Hae dance company. She also holds a Master’s degree in Korean dance from Kongju National University, Korea, and has taught dance and performed throughout Korea and America.

The IIC was honored to have as its Min-Sok Forum 2000 keynote speaker Tae Hyun Yoo, Korean consul general. Friends of the IIC in attendance at the event were the Russian Deputy consul general, Nikolay Karlovich Tavdumadze, and the executive director of San Francisco’s Grants for the Arts, Kary Schulman. Grants for the Arts is an annual sponsor of the Min-Sok event and this year additional funding was provided by State Farm Insurance Company.