Spouses of the ambassadors and other senior diplomats of a total of 11 countries of the world took part in the food show staged by the government of the Namyangju City on the eastern outskirts of Seoul in a five-day run on Sept. 22-26, 2017.
Dubbed “2017 Slow Life International Festival,” it was opened by Mayor Lee Seok-woo at the Namyangju Sports Culture Center on the theme of 'Food, City and Health' with an extensive interesting program that included various events, exhibitions, performances and academic programs at a number of different venues, including the Gourmet Tour Experience Hall, Good Life Pavilion, Farmers Market, World Street Food Area, and the Food Culture Street.
The opening ceremony started with a creative Korean dancing titled 'The Light and Wind of Slow Life' and a Slow Life video covering various food items and shows presented by the 11 different countries as mentioned earlier.
The slow lifestyle is aimed at improving the quality of life by adopting traditional methods of eating and living, which eventually lead to the three spirits of the event,, namely good health, environment and empathy.
Organizers said there were three core spirits honored at the event which were based on a philosophy advocated by a famed scolor named Jeong Yak-yong of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Jeong’s philosophy is aimed at improving the environment, economic value and the social status of rural regions.
The slow lifestyle is aimed at improving the quality of life by adopting traditional methods of eating and living, which will eventually lead to the three spirits of the event--health, environment and empathy.
Mayor Lee said that three core spirits of the Festival were based on a philosophy advocated by Jeong Yak-yong, a scholar of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), which is aimed at improving the environment, economic value and the social status of rural regions.
A well-known South Korean fashion designer, Lie Sang-bong, staged a gala fashion parade at the opening ceremony in collaboration with 30 futuristic designers at the opening ceremony, featuring five Rs -- renew, reuse, reduce, recycle and return.
Visitors experienced a slow urban life model at a "grocery restaurant" and other venues, and sampled various dishes and drinks from countries around the globe, including Vietnam, Germany, Egypt, Peru, and Spain.
The highlights of the Festival were the Country Food Shows staged by the spouses of the ambassadors. They were Mrs. Manaz Farhadi (spouse of administrative and technical attache of Iran), Mrs. Konul Teymurova (spouse of the ambassador of Azerbaijan), Mrs. Eman Aldomur (spouse of the ambassador of Jordan), Mrs. Ana Cosmen (spouse of the ambassador of Spain), Mrs. Tran Thi Lan Hinh (spouse of the ambassador of Vietnam), Mrs. Nehal Hanna (spouse of the ambassador of Egypt), Mrs. Maria Ana Hernandez of (spouse of the ambassador of the Philippines), and a number of other members of the Seoul Diplomatic Corps.
Each country attracted a good number of guests watching the food shows.
In the welcoming speech at the opening ceremony, Mayor Lee Suk-woo of the Namyangju City, concurrently co-chairman of the Festival, said, "Everything has its own pace, but we have suffered great damage and suffering because we did not obey the rule of nature.”
Among the VIP guests in attendance at the opening ceremony were Ambassador and Mrs. Teymurov of Azerbaijan, Ambassador and Mrs. Arjun Jang Bahadur Singh of Nepal and Mrs. Chafika Derraui, spouse of the ambassador of Algeria.
At the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister Kim Hyun-soo of Food, Agriculture, Forestry & Livestock, said, "Slow Life explains the value of sustainability most easily. We hope that the slogan, ‘Food, City, and Health’ will spread widely and become deeply rooted in the lifestyle culture movement.
The world-famous designer Lee Sang-bong's '5R fashion show' was performed. 5 R is the basic direction of the Slow International Festival this year, which means to Renew, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle and Return. Lee worked with young designers to combine Slow Life and 5 R with fashion to create clothes made of materials that were never thought of like eco-friendly materials, recycled materials, and waste vinyl.
