Enjoy Chuseok festivities at K-Style Hub

The K-Style Hub offers a variety of cultural activities, like trying on Hanbok (pictured), in celebration of the upcoming Chuseok mid-autumn harvest festival.

The K-Style Hub, located in Jung-gu along the Cheonggyecheon Stream and run by the Korea Tourism Organization, is offering visitors a variety cultural activities in celebration of the upcoming Chuseok mi-autumn harvest festival.

These include trying on Hanbok, silk painting classes and preparing food traditionally eaten during Chuseok. You can also have a go at playing traditional games, and go sightseeing in a rickshaw.

You can try on Hanbok at the K-Style Hub for free until the end of the year. As the rental is for one hour, you can explore the trick art exhibition with trompe-l’oeil pictures on the first floor or go outside and take a stroll along the Cheonggyecheon Stream with your friends and family. Hanbok rentals are available every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Tuesdays, on the fifth floor of the K-Style Hub. You will need to bring along an I.D. card or passport.

Two visitors dressed in Hanbok tour the coastlines of Korea on a large touch screen at the K-Style Hub.

Over the next month, the K-Style Hub offers silk painting classes in celebration of the upcoming Chuseok mid-autumn harvest festival.

For artistic types, silk painting classes will begin on Sept. 10. Called gyeonhwa in Korean, this technique of silk painting has been practiced for over a thousand years in Asia. The traditional paints and materials ensure permanency of the artwork. The classes are open to the public, and participants can choose from among six designs. All you need to do is color in the flower of your choice. It only takes around 10 minutes to finish. Once you’re done, you can get it framed to keep as a souvenir or to give it as a gift. These sessions begin on Sept. 10 and will run until Oct. 15. The classes take place on the fifth floor, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. Over the Chuseok holiday from Sept. 14 to 16, classes will be held outdoors from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There are a variety of cultural games to be enjoyed at K-style Hub’s outdoor courtyard, too. You will find everything from jegi chagi shuttlecock to the four-stick board game yunnori, and even tuho, a traditional arrow-throwing game. You can have a go at these from Sept. 14 to 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

If you happen to be in Myeongdong and want to pay a visit to the K-Style Hub, there are a number of rickshaws stationed between the two points, so you can hitch a ride.

In collaboration with the Korea Food Foundation, the K-Style Hub has also put together a cooking class for non-Koreans interested in trying their hand at making Chuseok food. It will run on Sept. 14 and 15. The invitation is open to Koreans, too, who can’t make it home this holiday season. The class will run for an hour from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. There’s a limit of 40 people per day. The session costs KRW 10,000 per person, and you can reserve your spot by phone (02-6053-7177, 02-6053-7179).

Since opening in April this year, the K-Style Hub has been successfully promoting all things Korean to both domestic and international tourists alike. On the second floor, the tourist information center provides travelers with assistance, while the virtual reality (VR) and “K-star photo zones” allow fans of K-pop to see their favorite stars or to virtually leap off a ski jump. The third and fourth floors feature the beauty of Korean interior design, and give visitors a chance to learn about and experience Korean cuisine. The gift store on the fifth floor showcases traditional artworks and Korean food products.

By Wi Tack-whan, Lee Hana
Korea.net Staff Writers
Photos: Korea Tourism Organization
whan23@korea.kr