If you’ve ever bowed respectfully to your ancestors or sampled Korea’s distinctive holiday dishes, it’s fair to say you’ve had a taste of Korean culture. But such experiences are rare in countries that don’t celebrate the Lunar New Year, known as Seollal in Korea. With that in mind, the Korea Culture Center (KCC) Austria organized an interactive event for local residents featuring performances, activities, exhibitions, film screenings and Korean food tastings.

The Seollal event was held at the Center’s performance hall and gallery on Feb. 14 in two parts, the first running from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and the second from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Advance registration was required for this highly anticipated event, which was fully booked three days in advance.

The event began with a demonstration of the traditional ancestral ritual known as charye. The ritual is held on Seollal morning, with painstakingly prepared dishes and libations offered up in remembrance of departed ancestors. This was followed by a taekwondo exhibition. Visitors who had watched the charye demonstration with fascination responded enthusiastically to the thrilling action and dynamic movements of taekwondo.

Following the demonstrations, an impressive array of Korean cultural activities unfolded in various rooms on the third, fourth and fifth floors. The programs included hands-on taekwondo lessons and opportunities to try traditional games such as yunnori (a board game with four sticks) and gongginori (a game similar to jacks). Visitors also tried their hand at traditional art forms like dancheong (traditional decorative painting) and calligraphy in Hangeul, the Korean alphabet. Programs in the gallery highlighted K-beauty and K-pop, which have attracted a devoted global following. Participants here had the chance to try on skincare products, get their faces painted, and browse through K-pop merchandise.

In addition to the reservation-only programs, some areas were open for anybody to visit. For example, one section was set aside for trying on Hanbok (traditional Korean attire), and a photo booth was set up for taking snapshots. The Center’s library hosted an exhibition centered on the charye spread, catering to those interested in learning more about Korea’s ancestral rites. A special program for sampling Korean cuisine—an indispensable part of the national culture—was also on offer. The tasting menu featured tteokguk, the soup of rice cake slices traditionally eaten on Seollal, along with traditional beverages sujeonggwa (cinnamon punch) and sikhye (sweet rice punch), treating foreign visitors to new flavors and textures. The Korean indie cartoon “The Bull and the Goblin” was screened in the gallery, holding the attention of curious children.

“It was very special to help shape and share this tradition,” said Sarah Lehner, a member of a Korean wave community called Namu Events. For Lehner, the most memorable parts of the festivities were the Taekwondo performance and the workshop, as well as the Korea 2025 Wrapped Quiz. “The overall positive atmosphere among the visitors is what stayed with me the most. It was wonderful to see so many people with shared interests come together and spend the day.”

“What impressed me most was how lively and approachable the culture was conveyed. It was not just an event, but a genuine immersion into the traditions surrounding Seollal,” said Alina Kollmann, a reporter covering the event for Kurier TV. “It was wonderful to observe how curious and appreciative many people were in engaging with a different culture. Events like this promote intercultural exchange and bring people together in a positive way, which was clearly noticeable.”

The event offered a mixture of things to do and see, encouraging people of all ages, from young children to adults, to take part. It was an opportunity to experience not only Seollal but Korean culture more broadly, helping to bridge the divide between visitors and Korea.

Q — What was your main focus while preparing for the event?
We were focused not merely on showing our visitors a good time, but on giving them a deeper understanding of Korean culture. As part of our basic goal of conveying Seollal’s significance and traditions, we planned an event at which visitors could experience various aspects of Korean culture. The idea was to hold a family event centered on the meaning of Seollal that would be enjoyable for people of all age groups.

Q — What impact do you expect the event to have?
I hope the event made it easier for visitors to understand Korean traditions and the Korean holiday of Seollal. I think they also went home with some good memories and reinforced their emotional ties with Korea. At the same time, I hope the event helped the Center consolidate its status as a venue for cultural exchange and encounters.

Q — Since opening on Sept. 5, 2023, the Center has not been around for very long, but local interest in our activities continues to grow. Our staff are always working hard to show visitors various aspects of Korean culture that combine tradition with contemporary life. Anybody interested in Korea and Korean culture is always welcome here. We’ll keep doing our best to hold a wide range of exciting events and programs to bring Austrians a vivid experience of Korean culture.