Seongbuk District hosts Latin American Festival
People participate in the 13th Latin American Festival at the Baram Madang plaza area of Seongbuk District Office in northeastern Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu
The 13th Latin American Festival was held with the participation of 15 Central and South American countries' embassies on Saturday at the Baram Madang plaza area of Seongbuk District Office in northeastern Seoul.
Launched in 2011 and marking its 13th edition this year, the festival was organized by Seongbuk District Office. About 22 booths offered sales and hands-on experiences, inviting visitors to enjoy Latin American foods such as arepas, empanadas, tacos and pupusas — as well as traditional hats, musical instruments, accessories and local specialties.
A variety of cultural performances, including traditional Mexican Jalisco dance, Argentine tango, Ecuadorian traditional and popular music, Salvadoran traditional dance, Peruvian Latin music and Colombian traditional dance also provided entertainment during the festival.
Angie Shakira Martinez Tejera, ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Korea, said the event offered an opportunity to introduce different sides of her country. The embassy brought her country's music, dance, food, crafts and baseball culture to Seoul as part of the festival.
“We are promoting the land of merengue and bachata,” she said, referring to two of the Dominican Republic’s best-known musical traditions.
“We are also the land of the best baseball players in the world,” she added, mentioning the Dominican-born baseball players in the Korea Baseball Organization.
For the ambassador, baseball offers a particularly meaningful connection between her country and Korea, where the sport also has a strong following.
“We think that baseball is one of the best ways to connect Korea and the Dominican Republic,” she told The Korea Times.
Angie Shakira Martinez Tejera, ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Korea, participates in the 13th Latin American Festival at the Baram Madang plaza area of Seongbuk District Office in northeastern Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu
She also explained that many Dominican students study at different universities in Korea. Some are exchange students, while others are pursuing master's and doctoral degrees, including through Korean government and university scholarship programs. Some students helped decorate the stand and performed for the festival, turning the event into a community effort.
She also expressed her appreciation to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seongbuk District head Lee Seung-ro for continuing to invite the Dominican Republic and other Latin American countries to participate in the annual festival.
For Mathias Francke, ambassador of Chile to Korea, the annual festival was an opportunity to celebrate Latin American culture, as well as to introduce the diversity of individual countries across the region. “It’s a great event. Every year, more and more people are participating,” Francke said during the festival.
His country’s participation this year was organized by the Association of Chilean Students in Korea. The ambassador said the festival was particularly valuable because Latin America is often perceived as a culturally uniform region, despite significant differences among its countries.
“It’s a very diverse region. Although people think that we are very similar because we all speak Spanish, our culture is very different,” he said. “Our diversity gives us a uniqueness among other countries.”
He pointed to differences in food, music and other cultural expressions.
“Even dishes that may appear similar across countries can have distinct identities and traditions,” he said.
Mathias Francke, ambassador of Chile to Korea, participates in the 13th Latin American Festival at the Baram Madang plaza area of Seongbuk District Office in northeastern Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu
The ambassador noted that the two countries have maintained diplomatic relations for more than six decades, and their economic ties are strengthened by the Korea-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed in 2003, which historically marked Korea’s first FTA with another country.
“Our relationship is very much based on trade and culture. Culture exchange is very important,” he said. Chile’s mineral resources are particularly significant to its economic relationship with Korea. Chile is a major global producer of copper and lithium, with these resources forming an important part of its exports to Korea."
People watch a performance at the 13th Latin American Festival at the Baram Madang plaza area of Seongbuk District Office in northeastern Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu
Ixi Pardo Mora, a Nicaraguan national married to a Korean, came up from Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, to volunteer at the festival. She added that her connection to Latin America is broader than Nicaragua, as her mother is from Costa Rica and she also has Colombian family roots.
It was her first time attending the festival, and her fluency in Spanish, English, Korean and French helped her communicate with visitors from diverse backgrounds. Assigned to the Bolivia booth, she helped visitors use QR codes and manage the lines. After five years in Korea, the festival allowed her to reconnect with her Latin American roots, speaking Spanish freely while enjoying the music, food and vibrant atmosphere of the region.
“I enjoyed the opportunity to interact with visitors in several languages, which created an unusually multilingual environment. I miss being able to express myself easily in my own language, so this festival provided that,” she said.
The festival also gave her a chance to see Koreans' interest in Latin American culture firsthand. “The music and the feel, it’s very Latin. But I’m also surprised to see so many Korean people interested in Latin American culture,” she said.
When asked what seemed to attract Korean visitors most, she said they want to try various foods from diverse Latin countries. “Definitely the food. That’s what I miss the most about my country.”
People participate in the 13th Latin American Festival at the Baram Madang plaza area of Seongbuk District Office in northeastern Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu
Kim Hyo-jin, one of the Korean event coordinators, told The Korea Times that the annual festival was aimed to operate as a zero-waste event, reflecting the district office's commitment to environmental sustainability. Around 500 staff members and volunteers were mobilized for the event. Visitors were encouraged to bring their own cups or food containers and received a 500 won discount for each menu item. Participating booths also voluntarily donated a portion of their sales to support low-income multicultural families in Seongbuk District.
Bereket Alemayehu is an Ethiopian photo artist, social activist and writer based in Seoul. He’s also the co-founder of Hanokers, a refugee-led social initiative, and a freelance contributor for Pressenza Press Agency.