Delphic Games 2009

A friend of mine will be joining the Philippine delegation to the III Delphic Games 2009 to be held in Jeju Island, South Korea on September 9 – 15, 2009. I have fond memories of the last Delphic Games because the 2007 Junior Delphic Games was held in my hometown, Baguio City in the Philippines, it was here where I got the chance to experience first-hand some Korean cultural performances. Here are some photos of the event.

 

 

 

  

 

Delphic Games brief backgrounder

The Delphic Games which was previously known as the Pythian Games, started in Greece in 582 B.C. together with the Olympic Games. It was a competition of culture and arts among ancient city nations of Greece. However it was discontinued for more than 1600 years and was only reborn at the beginning of the 20th century: from 1927 to 1936, it was held regularly, once in every three years, in Greece and was called Delphic Festival, it became the cognate of the ancient Pythian Games.

Modern-day Delphic Games are complex competitions of young professional in the field of art. It now combines all types of arts like performances, literary, social, and ecological arts.

Delphic Games 2009

The 3rd Delphic Games 2009, in Jeju, will see art competition in six art categories and 18 disciplines ― Music and Acoustics arts, Performing arts, Craft, Design & Visual arts, Lingual arts, Communication and Social arts, Architecture and Ecological arts ― under the motto ``Tuning into Nature''.

Jeju Island

(A little backgrounder on this Island Paradise of Korea, I will be talking more about Jeju in my future blog posts).

Considered as the premier tourist destination of Korea, Jeju is also the largest island and at the same time the smallest province of Korea. It is located 130 kms from the southern coast of Korea and about an hour flight from Seoul. Known as Korea’s version of Hawaii because of the island’s unique scenery of black lava rock walls, verdant hills covered with evergreens and palms coupled with its subtropical climate. Jeju is also known the country’s prime spot for honeymooners.

The island offers a wide range of activities for every type of visitor such as hiking on Mount Halla, the highest peak of South Korea; hiking and cycling are also popular on the island; equestrian activities including horseback riding and watching horse races; and golfing, are just but some of the things you can do while in Jeju.

Jeju is also home to the “Seongsan Ilchulbong” a UNESCO World Heritage site. Another must see place in the island is the Jeju Folk Museum which gives a nice overview of everyday life on the island, with exhibits of useful items made from bamboo, rice straw and black lava rock. The outdoor exhibition area displays 143 signature unusual stone carvings called Jeju Mushin Gung statues.

The Delphic Games 2009 will not only offer an art and cultural feast but coupled with the gems of Jeju Island, this event will certainly be a trip worth remembering for all participants and spectators.