Oct. 8, 2009 (The Korea Times) -- The Swiss Embassy in Korea will hold the Swiss Festival 2009 at the Raemian Gallery in Unni-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, from today to Oct. 13.
The purpose of the open-door festival is to share with the Korean public some aspects of Swiss culture through special events including concerts, exhibitions, food tasting, special events for children and information stands.
All events organized at the gallery are free of charge but reservations are needed to join the concerts and workshops.
The festival will be inaugurated today by Doris Leuthard, vice president of the Swiss Confederation and federal councillor.
The opening ceremony will take place at the gallery at 6 p.m.
During the festival, the Swiss Embassy and 10 of the most prominent Swiss companies in Korea will launch the Swiss Cultural Fund. They are ABB (NYSE:ABB) , Gudel, Nestl?, Novartis (NYSE:NVS) , Roche, Rolex, Schindler, SGS, Syngenta (NYSE:SYT) , UBS (NYSE:UBS) Hana Asset Management and Zuellig Pharma.
The festival intends to be diversified and promote intercultural exchanges. Therefore, most of the events presented include a cultural exchange component.
The opening concert by the Huh trio features three Korean sisters. Group leader Huh Seung-yeun lives in Switzerland where she is the deputy director of the Zurich Music Conservatory.
The Swiss group Piano Duo and Tenor on their Asia tour is making a stop at the festival to perform classical and fusion music as well as Swiss folk songs.
Two concerts featuring traditional Swiss yodelling music will take place. Talented Korean yodel groups will give a performance.
Concerts featuring duos of Swiss-Korean musicians playing improvisation jazz will be held. They include Korean pianist Kae Soo-jung and Swiss trombone player Samuel Blaser. The second classic concert features Swiss flutist Philipp Jundt and Swiss-Korean pianist Catherine Rechsteiner.
The well-known Korean photographer Lee Kyu-yeol will take visitors on a journey through the beauty of Swiss nature with "Tourism Switzerland." The photo exhibition, titled Get Natural the Swiss Way, will be held at the gallery until Oct. 13.
Children will be given the rare occasion to try Swiss yodelling during two singing workshops given by a Korean yodler. These special events will take place on Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m.
Another important exhibition linked to the Swiss festival will be held from today through Oct. 29 at the Olympic Stadium in Jamsil, southern Seoul. Swiss architect Andreas Vogler and Italian architect Arturo Vittori will hold an exhibition "Architecture and Vision ¡ª From Pyramids to Spacecraft" which allies the notions of architecture, research, design and technology, and apply them in space and on earth with their main focus placed on maximizing energy efficiency and preserving the environment with the use of innovative green technologies.
The excellence of Swiss education is a key factor of the economic success of Switzerland which has been the cradle of Nobel Prize laureates and famous researchers throughout the years.
Visitors to the festival interested in studying abroad will have the opportunity to meet with Swiss Learning, an association representing a broad spectrum of Swiss learning institutions.
