Spring may still be around the bend, but one corner of Seoul will be awash with green next weekend in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.

The Irish Association of Korea will celebrate its St. Patrick’s Day festival on March 14 at D-Cube City in Sindorim, Seoul.

“St. Patrick’s Day is a global festival that celebrates Irish culture. It is an opportunity to experience the music, dance and arts from Ireland,” said Shauna Browne, chairperson of the IAK, which organizes the event.
 
The organizers have put the focus of this year’s festival on music to give the event a stronger cultural edge.

“We have always had music every year, but the aim is to really emphasize that this music is cultural and historical and has a strong meaning behind it,” said Emilee Jennings, IAK publicity officer.

“The sound of Irish dancing has a really unique tone to it as well.”

The open-air stage at the festival will feature performances including a fusion of traditional and modern Irish dance from Tap Pung, an award-winning Korean Irish dancing troupe.

Music will include old-style Irish singing and bands including the U.S. Army Band, traditional musicians Ceoltoiri Soul and the Bloody Foreland.

The festival has been held at the same venue for several years and grown in popularity, with thousands turning up to last year’s event.

Jennings attributed the popularity of the festival to its profile as a world-famous event that expats would know instantly, while Koreans who’d lived abroad would also know it.

“It is growing more popular with Koreans as well,” she said, adding that the IAK was making efforts to appeal to the Korean public through Korean-language media and blogs, by making the event more family-friendly and by having Korean-speaking volunteers at the event.

There will be face painting, musical and cultural entertainment and lots of green, the national color of Ireland.

A raffle will also give visitors the chance to win round-trip flights for two to Ireland.

D-Cube itself will also be selling traditional Irish food at the event.

A St. Patrick’s Day after-party will be held in Itaewon after the main event. This party, known as the Hooley, will showcase a mix of live traditional and modern music acts as a fund-raiser for IAK events.

The St. Patrick’s Day festivities will run from 1-6 p.m. at D-Cube City in Sindorim, Seoul.

The Hooley will begin at 7 p.m. at the Rocky Mountain Tavern in Itaewon. Entrance is 10,000 won, and there will be tickets for a bus from D-Cube to Itaewon available at the St. Patrick’s Day festival site.

For more information, visit www.irishassociationofkorea.kr.

By Paul Kerry (paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)