The students watched Korean dancers, musicians, and singers perform, both during a parade and on the stage at the heart of the festival. Immersing themselves in the sights, sounds, and smells of a culture that was, for many, unfamiliar, students tried on hanbok, traditional Korean garments, and ate food from street vendors, such as Korean barbeque, skewers of teriyaki octopus and squid, bulgogi dumplings, tteokbokki, and tanghulu.
Students enjoyed spending the afternoon steeped in the rich cultural heritage of South Korea, meeting new people, and forming joyful new memories with friends. Most memorable of all, however, was the joy Fr. Chung brought to the trip. “Fr. Chung has come to us from Korea and is in our culture, and so it was really cool that he was able to share what he grew up with, his own personal culture, with us, and how that’s different, and all the beautiful things about that,” said Evan Graham (’27). “He was happy to speak to people in Korean for us, haggling down prices, and he got us some free stuff!”
Freshman Charlotte Peters (’28) agreed, saying, “Fr. Chung was honestly the best part of it. He was taking us through all the different stalls, showing us all the different foods. He really lit up the entire experience!”