The Gwangju International Center will celebrate its 20th annual Gwangju International Community Day in front of the Asian Culture Complex in the city’s downtown area Sunday.

The annual day run by the Center will start at 11 a.m. and finish at 5 p.m. It will be centered on a main stage with a talent show and other performances, surrounded by booths introducing groups run by or in support of expatriates here, and cultural showcases.

The GIC Day was originally planned for Sept. 29, but the date and venue were changed at the insistence of the Culture Ministry, which wanted to include it as part of a citywide cultural festival.

It was originally to be held in front of City Hall, but has been moved to its new location, on the site of the old Kunsthalle, to help promote the opening of the Asian Culture Complex to the public for the first time from Friday to Sunday.

Despite the move, GIC coordinator Karina Prananto is confident that the event will be as popular as it was last year.

“Last year the GIC Day was held in a bigger place, in front of the World Cup Stadium, but I think that we will still get about 2,000 people because it is in downtown and it is easy to find,” she said, adding that she believed the festival was the biggest multicultural festival in Korea, which was an achievement for such a small city.

The main stage will host a talent show, on which performers ― mostly dancers and singers ― will compete for prizes of up to 500,000 won ($470).

Additionally, quizzes will be run in English and Korean for people to compete in, and audience challenges such as eating competitions will be run in between the bigger events.

The challenges were something Prananto said were among the smaller touches, with spot prizes introduced this year to encourage participation and a “passport stamp” system that rewards people who take part in different cultural activities.

There will be food from 11 countries, including Vietnam, Ireland and India, as well as a beer truck serving up locally brewed craft beer.

Visitors can also try their hand at folk games and activities from Uzbekistan, Mongolia and six other countries.

A flea market on the site will offer secondhand goods, and booths will be run by organizations that offer legal advice and help for expats, such as the Emergency Support Center for Migrant Women, Asia Brightness Community and National Pension Service.

Expat cultural and professional organizations will also have stalls at the event, including groups for language teachers, volunteers and artists.

By Paul Kerry (paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)