A taekwando demonstration from a previous year’s festival (Photos courtesy of Korean Community Presbyterian Church/Carolina News & Reporter)
Taekwondo, K-pop dance contests and Korean fan dances will be on full display this Saturday at the Korean Community Presbyterian Church.
The Korean Festival will return to Columbia on Oct. 26 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission is free of charge, and attendees can purchase tickets at the event in exchange for food.
As emcee of the event and deacon at the church, Brian Shelton, encourages all ages, backgrounds and languages to visit the festival to experience Korean culture in a new, fun way.
“I’m not Korean,” Shelton said. “I am actually the only non-Korean deacon, so I’m honored to be in this position.”
The festival began as a small church gathering in 2005 and has evolved into an annual event, attracting thousands over the past two decades.
“In 2012, we started to see an explosion of interest in Korean culture, that being the year ‘Gangnam Style’ came out,” Shelton said. “But we wanted to show people this isn’t something that just started in 2012 — it goes much further back than that.”
The festival reached its peak attendance in 2019 with roughly 8,000 people before shutting down for the next three years due to COVID.
“The return to the festival in 2023 was our largest crowd ever with about 10,000 attendees,” Shelton said. “The interest is incredible, and we anticipate this year will be the same, if not more. And that is so wonderful to see.”
Shelton said the festival’s profits goes to local and statewide charities, including the Harvest Hope food pantry.
“We of course want to raise awareness about Korean culture, but we also want to give back to the community,” Shelton said. “So that has definitely been the most rewarding part.”
Shelton said he sees his role as the emcee as an opportunity to duplicate his own experiences with the audience.
“Not being Korean, I’ve been where some of the audience has been if they are new to Korean culture,” Shelton said. “I can be that bridge and say, ‘Look, I know where you’re coming from. But this is something you should learn more about because it’s absolutely amazing.’”
Brian Shelton’s wife, Sue, has been attending the church since she was 8 years old after moving from Korea to America as a baby.
Sue Shelton is also a deacon at the church and a Sunday School teacher. She and Brian also serve on the festival planning committee.
“The church was a place I could go to be myself and be around people that were like me while going through the same experiences,” Sue Shelton said. “Now I can be a role model for the children to look up to, which really is a full circle moment.”
Sue Shelton hopes the festival helps people realize Americans and Koreans have much more in common than they think and will help reduce cultural stigma.
“I meet all kinds of people through this festival,” Sue Shelton said. “They come there and, you know, they’re just so nice to talk to and so happy to be there. They have so many compliments, and they’re so curious about things. It’s refreshing to see.”
Brian Shelton said he hopes the event dispels any misconceptions people may have about Korean culture.
“One of the things we want to stress is that Korean culture is not just K-pop or K-drama – it goes back thousands of years,” Brian Shelton said. “That’s what this festival tries to celebrate: the art and performances that span from ancient times to the modern day.”
Andrew Black, owner and head instructor of Black Tiger Tae Kwon Do, whose school will perform at the festival for the first time, said the opportunity is a great honor for him and his students.
“I’ve always wanted to be a part of the festival, but I never felt it was my place because, you know, I’m not Korean,” Black said. “But we have been preparing for about two months, and I really hope it opens up somebody’s eyes to doing martial arts.”
Sue Shelton noted the Korean population in Columbia has been steadily growing over the years.
She emphasized the importance of fostering understanding and acceptance among community members in light of the growing minority population.
“Korea has been through lots of difficult times, but it caused our people to be stronger, and even more proud of our culture,” Sue Shelton said. “The festival and this church give me a chance to embrace my Korean identity and be thankful for it.”
