PAST EVENTS & PROGRAMS
2023 Mid-Autumn/Chuseok Family Fun Event
On September 23, Woori Center held its first-ever Mid-Autumn/Chuseok Family Fun Festival at Philadelphia Won Temple in celebration of this traditional Asian festival. More than 120 people, including children and adults, showed up at the venue and participated in a variety of activities.
Attendees enjoyed wonderful Korean cuisine, browsed an interesting flea market, engaged in traditional games, played and learned about Korean percussion instruments, made Songpyeon, practiced calligraphy, and posed for unforgettable pictures in Hanbok clothing. The evening also featured two different groups' engaging performances, including a Taekwondo demonstration by SKY Martial Arts and mesmerizing Korean traditional dances by First Generation Korean Academy.
Woori Center recognizes the huge value of arts and culture to individuals and society. Woori Center’s Arts & Culture programs and projects that will not only expand access to artistic and cultural experiences for our community members, but also help them better understand and acknowledge the diversity of our community and put in daily practices that echo Woori Center and NAKASEC’s founding values: Live Right, Live Strong, Know Your Roots, and Live Together.
Gather Together In Their Name
Woori Center invited the community to join in a celebration of music that has sustained and uplifted us, individually and collectively, during the past three years of the pandemic. Performances by community members will be accompanied by our spirited community band STUMP and norae-bang (karaoke).
All proceeds from this event will go to Woori Center's scholarship program for Asian American undocumented students and youth in Delaware Valley and other parts of PA.
This event is part of Gather Together in their Name, an arts-driven community engagement project led by artists Jungwoong Kim and Shavon Norris with support from ARTisPHL, a public art initiative of the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation.
What is Gather Together?
Gather Together In Their Name is an arts-driven community engagement project led by artists Jungwoong Kim and Shavon Norris. The pandemic disrupted the ways families and communities grieved and honored people they lost. The project aims to create community-based recognitions and tributes to those people and to reflect on things---rituals, customs, pastimes----that went missing from community life as a result of the restrictions and losses following spring 2020.
The project is funded by ARTisPHL, a recently established arts funding program administered by the Public Art Committee of the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC) through financial support from the Knight Foundation. The Asian Arts Initiative has been a supportive partner and the project works with Young Playwrights and Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists (PAPA) as "hubs" of workshops and activities. Woori Center is a third "hub" for the project.
Community BBQ Party: Summer 2022
On August 21st of 2022, Woori Center hosted our first in-person summer event. In sharing food and stories and through crafts and power building exercises, we invited participants to consider the importance of building collective power. We were happy to see and spend time with all who came out and extend our deepest gratitude for all who participated, contributed and volunteered for the event!
Keep an eye out for additional virtual meditation and yoga sessions, concerts, and a Korean Percussion Band (사물놀이 samulnori) class!
Know Your Roots: Explore Korean Music Through Danso
Woori Center provides a virtual ten-week Korean music class with master Korean musician, gamin. Through the hands-on experience of playing Danso, students learn about topics such as vocal music, instrumental music, and ritual music; get an introduction to Korean folk songs, jangdan (rhythm), traditional children’s songs, and Korean music; and learn the lyrics of Arirang folk songs. Our 40-minute classes generally consist of 20-minute lectures and 20-minute practical lessons.
Gamin Kang, simply known as “gamin,” is a distinguished NYC soloist who tours the world performing both traditional Korean music and cross-disciplinary collaborations. Gamin plays piri (double reed Korean oboe), taepyeonso (double-reed horn), and saenghwang (mouth organ). She is a designated Yisuja, an official holder of Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 46 for Court and Royal Military music.
Woori Center offers this space as an opportunity for us to take care of ourselves, as playing Danso and learning about calming music can reduce stress and strengthen your immune system. Moreover, Gamin will help you explore different types of Korean music and learn about the songs our parents and their parents have sung for centuries.