PRESS RELEASE
No.	PR/19-18	Date	5 June 2019
Contact	Program Inquiries: Cho Hyun-myung, Senior Officer, CTU (+82-2-2287-1133, hmcho@aseankorea.org) Press Inquiries: Yoo In-sun, Senior Officer, IDU (+82-2-2287-1149, isy@aseankorea.org)
ASEAN-Korea Centre is an International Organization mandated to promote economic and socio-cultural cooperation between ASEAN Member States and Korea.

The Complete ASEAN Experience: ASEAN-Korea Centre to hold the ‘ASEAN Week 2019’ to showcase cultures of ten ASEAN countries

- ‘ASEAN Week 2019’ to be held on June 14-16, 2019 at Seoul Plaza -

- Cultural performances of 10 ASEAN countries and fashion shows by designers of ASEAN to be showcased -

- ASEAN Travel Talk and K-POP performance featuring Hwang Gwanghui, Kim Jun-su, Soyou, and The One -

- ASEAN Lifestyle & Design Exhibition, Tourism Promotion Booth, and ASEAN Café for the Korean public to enjoy -

Seoul, Republic of Korea - The ASEAN-Korea Centre (Secretary General Lee Hyuk) will organize the ‘ASEAN Week 2019’ for three days from June 14 to 16 at Seoul Plaza to showcase diverse cultures of ten ASEAN member states.

In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the ASEAN-ROK Dialogue Relations as well as the 10th Anniversary of the ASEAN-Korea Centre, the ‘ASEAN Week 2019’ aims to raise public awareness on ASEAN culture and tourism and create festivity prior to the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit scheduled for November this year. The Week is anticipated to strengthen people-to-people connectivity between ASEAN and Korea by showcasing special events such as ASEAN-Korea Music Festival, ASEAN Fashion Festival, and ASEAN Travel Talk. ASEAN Cultural Performances, ASEAN Lifestyle & Design Exhibition, ASEAN Tourism Promotion Booth, and ASEAN Café will also be presented throughout the Week to further promote ASEAN cultures to the Korean public.

During the Opening Ceremony on June 14, H.E Lee Hyuk, Secretary General of ASEAN-Korea Centre, Hon. Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul, and H.E. Singtong Lapisatepun, Ambassador of Thailand will announce the commencement of the celebrations and deliver congratulatory remarks. The ASEAN-Korea Music Festival will follow, featuring ASEAN cultural performances and K-Pop idols, Kim Jun-su and The One. The harmony of Korean and ASEAN artists is expected to contribute to two-way cultural exchanges and to the budding of the ASEAN wave in Korea.

The ASEAN Fashion Festival will be held the next day on June 15 with leading ASEAN designers, including Mr. Paul Direk from Thailand and Ms. Farhanna Pura from Brunei Darussalam, who took part in the 2018 Vienna Fashion Week and the 2017 London Fashion Week respectively. The Festival will showcase both the traditional and contemporary fashion of ASEAN which will be presented on the runway by Dr. Nana Keum, Honorary Ambassador of the ASEAN-Korea Centre, Spouses of the ASEAN Ambassadors, together with models from ASEAN countries. K-Pop artists Soyou and The One will further embellish the evening with their special concert.

The final day of the Week on June 16, ASEAN Travel Talk will be held under the theme ‘My Trip to ASEAN’. With the number of people-to-people exchange between ASEAN and Korea surpassing 10 million in 2018, the ASEAN Travel Talk will invite Korean celebrity Hwang Gwanghui and travel journalist Shin Iksu to share their personal and unique experience in various ASEAN tour sites and destinations. ASEAN food tasting coupons will be issued to the pre-registered visitors on a first come first served basis and there will also be various raffle events for the public with prizes ranging from GoPro to hotel vouchers. Registration for the event can be made through ASEAN-Korea Centre website (www.aseankorea.org) and Naver Travel Plus Blog (blog.naver.com/the_trip).

In addition to the above three special events, there will also be on-site performances and exhibitions throughout the three days. 70 performers from 10 ASEAN countries will be presenting 20 different cultural performances, depicting diverse traditions, customs and ethnic groups of each ASEAN country. ASEAN Lifestyle & Design Exhibition will display products that put together traditional and local culture of ASEAN with a touch of modern design.

Tourism booths of each ASEAN country will be installed at Seoul Plaza, and the National Tourism Organizations of the ASEAN countries together with their respective Embassies will hold promotional events as well as provide information on tourism destinations in ASEAN. In particular, Brunei Darussalam and the Philippines will be giving out round-trip air tickets to the winners of their raffle event. Visitors will also be able to taste gourmet coffee at the ASEAN Café and also take part in other fun activities ranging from face painting, quiz shows, Instagram photo event to umbrella crafting.

Secretary General Lee Hyuk noted that, “'ASEAN Week 2019' is the first official event this year being held to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the ASEAN-ROK Dialogue Relations” and invited the citizens of Seoul and all those who are interested in ASEAN to “take part in the event where they can experience ASEAN in all dimensions, from art to fashion, lifestyle, tourism and food.”

[Attachments]

- Press Release file

- 2019 ASEAN Week Leaflet

- 2019 ASEAN Week Poster