Entertainment
KOREANS and Nigerians in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Wednesday celebrated the Korean Lunar New Year ” Seollal” with Korean traditional games.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ‘Seollal’ refers to the lunar new Year, essentially the Korean equivalent of Chinese new year.
It is where families gather to celebrate the beginning of a new lunar year with traditional foods, ancestral rites and traditional games.
The year signifies a time for togetherness and wishing for good fortune in the coming year; it is considered the most important traditional Korean holiday.
The event, which was organised by the Korea Cultural Center in Nigeria (KCCN) in Abuja, witnessed remarkable activities such as Korean traditional games like Gong-gi, Jegi-Chagi and Ttakji-Chigi, and traditional Korean snacks.
It was aimed at celebrating and sharing Korean culture with Nigerians, as well as bringing the similarities of their games to that of those games Nigerians played back in the days.
Speaking at the event, Ms Yujin Lee, KCCN Cultural event manager, said that the event focused on the celebration of the biggest holiday in Korea just like Chuseok (Thanksgiving)
Lee said the ‘Soellal’ was very significant because it gives one the opportunity to thank the ancestors.
“With this Lunar New Year celebration, we always focus on traditional games such as Gong-gi, Jegi-Chagi, among others, which are very important because it has to do with gathering of people,“he said.
Also speaking, Ms Jennifer Ezeonyeasi, Cultural Events and Communications Officer of the KCCN, said ‘Seollal’ followed the Lunar New Year calendar in Korea.
According to her, the day is the celebration of a New Year, like Jan. 1 all over the world.
” In order to make this event remarkable, we had put together some Korean traditional games for people to experience, especially with the popularity of the ‘Squid Game’.
“The Squid game is a South Korean dystopian survival thriller action television series created, written and directed by Hwang Dong- hyuk for Netflix.
“We tried to inculcate some of the traditional games that were played in that Squid Game season 2 movie into this event.
“This is because it is all about Korean traditional games played during celebrations in Korea,” she said.
Ezeonyeasi said that ‘Yutnori’, a traditional Korean board game that involved throwing wooden sticks to move pieces on a map, is commonly played during Korean Lunar New Year.
“We have other games such as Gong-gi, Jegi-Chagi, played in different ways such as rolling of dice, throwing and catching stones, as well as playing with your foot just to keep the item on the air like football.
“So all of these games today is just basically to celebrate the Korean Lunar New Year, by sharing Korean culture with Nigerians, because those games are similar to what Nigerians played back in the day.
“So, bringing the similarity of these games shows that Nigeria and Korea share a common cultural entity and a lot of cultural exchanges have happened through this event,” she added.
Ms Nimat Ajaji, a participant, said celebrating this Lunar New Year with the Korean community in Nigeria was a day to remember.
Ajaji, who won the ‘Yutnori’ game, said ‘Soella’ is one of the most important holidays in Korea, just like Chuseok , which is like Korean Thanksgiving.
” I have been following Korean culture for the past 12 years and I am so much in love with their culture, the reason why I watch a lot of variety shows in Korean.
” The ‘Yutnori’ game which is like a board game is traditionally played by farmers in Korea. They used to play it like a way to usher in the New Year and also pray for good luck for their farm in that year,” she said.
Another participant, Mrs Ene Igwe, said the event was quite entertaining due to the numerous traditional games played by participants.
Igwe said the Korean community carrying Nigerians along with their activities was commendable and I appreciate them for that.
” I am so happy that my teammates and I won the Jegi-Chagi, Ddakji-Chigi and Gong-gi Nori games.
” It is an experience that every lover of Korean culture need to explore, bearing in mind that every country has its unique way of celebrating the new year,”.(NAN)
30th January, 2025.
C.E.
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