Celebration Event for the 1st Anniversary of Dosan Seowon in Andong Being Registered as a World Heritage Site

Opening Ceremony of the '2020 Korean Seowon World Heritage Festival'

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] The opening ceremony of the '2020 Korean Seowon World Heritage Festival' will be held at 3:30 PM on the 3rd at Dosan Seowon in Andong.

Hosted by the Cultural Heritage Administration and organized by the Korean Seowon Integrated Preservation and Management Group, this festival will be held throughout July under the theme "Seowon, Becoming the Flower of the World," featuring nine seowon (Dosan, Byeongsan, Sosu, Namgye, Oksan, Pilam, Dodong, Museong, Donam Seowon) that were inscribed as World Heritage sites last year.

The festival will showcase various integrated or individual programs from the nine seowon, beginning with the invitational exhibition "Korean Seowon" by artist Lee Ho-shin, held since June 15 at the museum of Sosu Seowon, Korea's first seowon in Yeongju, and the special exhibition at the National Jeonju Museum on the 29th as a pre-event.

In particular, at Dosan Seowon in Andong, the opening ceremony and celebratory concert commemorating the first anniversary of the inscription of Korean Seowon as a World Heritage site will be held. The opening ceremony will feature various attractions including the situational stage play "Teacher of Humanity, Toegye," which tells the story of Toegye Yi Hwang, as well as Korean traditional chamber music and traditional percussion performances. The subsequent celebratory concert will present a musical fantasy blending Korean traditional music such as the Dosan 12 Songs choir, pansori, and gayageum with Western music instruments like cello and flute.

At Byeongsan Seowon in Andong, a loyalty and filial piety travel program titled "Seoe Teacher's Love for the Country" will be conducted. It is planned as a 2-night, 3-day stay at the seowon to experience the patriotism of Seoe Ryu Seong-ryong. Additionally, the increasingly popular 'Seowon Stay' can be enjoyed. A total of six sessions will be held throughout July.

An official from Andong City stated, "We hope that visiting the Korean Seowon World Heritage sites throughout July to enjoy and experience the festival will provide many domestic and international tourists with an opportunity to once again reflect on the true value of seowon, the birthplace of Neo-Confucianism."

Meanwhile, the World Heritage Festival is a new project launched this year by the Cultural Heritage Administration to allow all citizens to enjoy the value and meaning of domestic World Heritage sites inscribed by UNESCO. This year's World Heritage Festival will begin with Korean Seowon in July, followed by Gyeongsangbuk-do in August, and Jeju Island in September, featuring distinctive World Heritage festivals.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.