Korean Cultural Celebrations at the SM Supermalls
Mallgoers recently had a rare glimpse of Korean culture through music, dance, and movies in two recent events at the SM Supermalls. These included the 2015 Pinoy KPop Star competition at the Centerstage cinema at the SM Mall of Asia; and the Korean Film Festival, which unreeled at cinemas at SM City Cebu, SM City Iloilo, SM Lanang Premier, and SM Megamall.
A joint project of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines and SM, these events inspired a deeper understanding of Korea's cultural diversity, and also gave chance to talented Filipinos with interest in Korean culture to perform on stage.
The Korean Film Festival in Manila showcased seven blockbuster and critically acclaimed films gave film lovers a glimpse of Korean history and culture, as well as the connection and understanding of one another.
The thriving film industry of Korea represents their country's openmindedness, nationalism, and creativity in storytelling, acting, and technological prowess. Filipinos were delighted by the Korean culture shown in the films. The seven films in the Korean Film Festival - Miss Granny, The Thieves, Duresori: The Voice of East, Cold Eyes, Hope, The Front Line, and Marriage Blue were all well received by the viewers in these key cities around the Philippines.
The K-Pop Sing and Dance Competition, on the other hand, was open to talented Filipinos with the growing interest in Korean culture.
The first part of the festival was the KBS World K-Pop Festival, a sing and dance competition of Korean songs for a solo, duo, or group artists. Ten contestants performed with Hergie Manlucot as the Grand Prize Winner, followed by Val John Librea for the 2nd place and Jean Kiley Manguera for the 3rd place. Manlucot and Librea will represent the Philippines in the Online Regional Finals for the 2015 K-Pop World Festival in Changwon, South Korea.
The second part was the K-Pop Cover Dance Festival, a dance competition for K-Pop cover groups across the country. Ten groups showed off their K-Pop moves with Se-Eon emerging as Grand Champion. They won a free trip to Changwon, South Korea where. they will represent the Philippines and compete with other dance teams from around the world. Sheeny won the 2nd Place, while AMIGO won the 3rd place.
The Korean Film Festival and the Pinoy K-Pop Star Competition are some of the many cultural events held at the SM Mall of Asia and SM Megamall.