The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC) and the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) invite you to a series of hands-on workshops exploring traditional Korean crafts and cultural practices, presented in partnership with the National Folk Museum of Korea (NFMK). Led by Youngjae Kim, former Senior Curator at the National Folk Museum of Korea, each session offers a unique opportunity to learn about Korean traditions while handling or creating your own handcrafted items including the daenggi (댕기) decorative hair ribbon, jangmyeongru (장명루) five-colored longevity bracelet, and bojagi (보자기) wrapping cloth. Participants will explore traditional materials, embedded symbolism, and crafting techniques through engaging, hands-on activities. This program is supported by and presented in cooperation with the National Folk Museum of Korea.     PLEASE NOTE: An RSVP is required for each session and space is limited. Participants are asked to kindly RSVP for only one session (at either the KCCDC or NMAA) to maximize overall participation. Two additional sessions on May 26 and 27 are by invitation only and not listed below.    Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. 2370 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. Wednesday, May 27, 5:00 – 7:00 PM RSVP FOR THIS EVENT! This session will focus on introducing and crafting the daenggi (댕기) decorative hair ribbon and jangmyeongru (장명루) five-colored longevity bracelet. ●Sew and decorate a traditional daenggi using gold foil ●Make a jangmyeongru, symbolizing health and protection ●Optional: Try on traditional Korean hanbok clothing   National Museum of Asian Art 1050 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. Thursday, May 28, 1:00 – 3:00 PM RSVP coming soon! Please refer to the National Museum of Asian Art for the upcoming start of registration for this event.   This session will focus on introducing and crafting the bojagi (보자기) wrapping cloth and jangmyeongru (장명루) five-colored longevity bracelet. ●Learn six different traditional bojagi wrapping techniques, each with unique artistic appearance ●Make a jangmyeongru, symbolizing health and protection ●Optional: Try on traditional Korean hanbok clothing About the Instructor and Crafts Youngjae Kim is a former Senior Curator at the National Folk Museum of Korea with over 20 years of experience in Korean traditional attire and cultural heritage. She currently leads research and cultural programs through the Hansan Research Institute.   Daenggi (댕기)  This traditional Korean ribbon is used to adorn a traditional Korean hair braid for women and is often made of silk and with gold or silver foil patterns. Participants will complete stitching, apply decorative motifs, and learn how to wear the daenggi. See an example video here!    Jangmyeongru (장명루) This five-colored braided bracelet symbolizes health, protection, and longevity. Participants will create their own bracelet that integrates this traditional color symbolism. See an example video here!    Bojagi (보자기) Bojagi is an icon of traditional Korean culture. This versatile and beautiful wrapping cloth is rooted in women’s domestic culture, where many everyday household objects were carefully crafted with both form and function in mind. Influenced by royal traditions of the Joseon Dynasty, bojagi reflects both practicality and aesthetic refinement. Reusable and eco-friendly, it embodies flexibility, creativity, and the beauty of thoughtful wrapping without waste. In this workshop, participants will explore a variety of bojagi fabrics, colors, and patterns while learning how different wrapping styles can create unique forms and expressions. Each participant will discover their own style through hands-on practice and creative experimentation. Participants will receive a mystery box to create their own magical bojagi, with each result offering a unique surprise. See example videos here and here!  

The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC) presents A Window into K-Culture: Focus on Korean Literature, a special two-day event organized in collaboration with the National Museum of Korean Literature (NMKL) as part of the global Touring K-Arts program supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE).   Researcher Young-in Seo of the National Museum of Korean Literature will speak in-person about how Korean literature offers the chance to go beyond simply enjoying K-Culture to gaining a deeper understanding of it. By connecting familiar Korean Wave content such as K-dramas and K-Pop with literary traditions, this program explores the cultural narratives and context embedded within contemporary Korean culture.   The first of two sessions focuses on Tradition and the Present in Korean Literature, while the second session examines Contemporary Korean Literature and the Diversity of the Korean Wave.   Each evening presents distinct themes and will introduce notable Korean literary works and authors for curious readers to discover. A curated on-site exhibition of works featured in the lectures will also be available for viewing in both Korean and English, and a special quiz will offer participants the chance to win copies of select books.   Newcomers and avid fans alike are invited to take a deep dive into Korean literature and culture through this special event.   [K-Culture: Explore More, Enjoy More]  A Window into K-Culture: Focus on Korean Literature Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. Session 1: Tradition and the Present in Korean Literature Monday, May 18, 2026, 6:00–7:30 PM Session 2: Contemporary Korean Literature and the Diversity of the Korean Wave Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 6:30–8:00 PM RSVPs coming soon! Please check back for the start of public registration on Wednesday, May 6.  PLEASE NOTE: participants may attend either one or both sessions, but separate registration is required for each. Free with registration.  Speaker Biography & Featured Exhibited Books    Young-in Seo is a researcher at the National Museum of Korean Literature, where she is engaged in the collection, management, and research of Korean literary materials. She holds a Ph.D. in Korean Literature. Since her literary debut in 2000 through the publisher Changbi (창비), she has worked as a literary critic and has lectured on Korean literature at various universities in Korea. Seo’s published works include collections of literary criticism, essays, and academic research.  

We are pleased to invite you to a K-Movie Screening presented as part of Asia North ! 📅 Overview Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2026 Time: 7:00 - 9:00 PM Location: SNF Parkway Theatre (5 W North Ave, Baltimore, MD 21201) RSVP NOW ✨ About Asia North Asia North is an Asian arts and culture festival in Baltimore’s Station North Arts District. It celebrates the Charles North–Station North neighborhood’s evolving identity as a Koreatown, arts district, and creative hub. The festival is co-produced by the Asian Arts & Culture Center and the Central Baltimore Partnership.   🎬About the Film Three years after her passing, Bok-ja is granted a special three-day vacation from heaven. Accompanied by a rookie “guide,” she returns to the world of the living under one strict rule: her daughter cannot see or hear her. Excited to reunite with her accomplished daughter Jin-joo, now a professor at a university in the U.S., Bok-ja is soon taken aback to find her back in their rural hometown, running a small eatery instead. Unaware of her mother’s presence, Jin-joo begins recreating her mother’s recipes. As she brings these dishes back to life, long-forgotten memories and emotions resurface, bridging the distance between past and present in unexpected ways.   Trailer

The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC) co-hosted a special advance screening of the Netflix original series Beef Season 2 on April 14, in collaboration with Netflix. The event took place at the Motion Picture Association (MPA) in Washington, D.C. ahead of its official release. Episodes 1 and 2 of Beef Season 2 were exclusively previewed.  The screening was followed by a panel discussion featuring director Lee Sung Jin and actors Youn Yuh-jung, Jang Seo-yeon, and Matthew Kim. They shared insights into the creative vision and casting process behind the series. Jinny Howe, Head of Scripted Series for the US and Canada (UCAN) at Netflix, moderated the discussion. The event also featured welcoming remarks by Elissa Alben, Vice President of Global Affairs for US and Canada at Netflix, followed by congratulatory remarks from Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States.  The event served as an opportunity to build anticipation for the upcoming release of Beef Season 2, while showcasing the excellence of content created by Korean and Korean American talent to audiences in the United States. It also highlighted the expanding global recognition of collaborative content between creators and industries in both countries. The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. will continue to promote cultural exchange and cooperation between Korea and the United States through diverse cultural programming.   More information about Beef Season 2 can be found here: https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/beef-season-2-premiere-preview

The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC) proudly presents Connecting Lines, a new exhibition of works by Korean artists Park Hyewon and Kim So Jeong that meditate on life’s diverse connections and unseen structures through the deceptively simple—yet profoundly fundamental and expressive—concept of the line.  Both Park and Kim will introduce their works in person at the opening reception on Tuesday, April 21, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. (RSVP required).   The artists’ works encompass themes of symmetry, repetition, record keeping, connection, and formal expansion, utilizing pen and thread as key media across both physical and visual spaces. Through their practice, each reveals cyclical processes of life within material environments while also reconstructing reality’s seemingly ordinary moments. In doing so, they bring into view unseen relationships and the connective tissues of human life.   For Park and Kim, the line functions not merely as a means of delineation, but as a fundamental unit that reveals, generates, and extends connections.   The artists’ works also speak to line concepts explored by French Philosopher Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995). Deleuze regarded human beings and society not as fixed structures, but as complex relationships formed through the intersection and entanglement of different lines. In this sense, artistic structures formed from multiple lines can be interpreted as the very framework for one’s life.   Connecting Lines remains on view April 21 through June 5, 2026 at the KCCDC and launches with a public opening reception on Tuesday, April 21, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. (RSVP required). The opening event will include an introduction to the exhibition and a session in which both Park and Kim will discuss their works in person. Connecting Lines: Works by Park Hyewon and Kim So Jeong  Exhibition Dates: April 21 – June 5, 2026 Opening Reception with the Artists: Tuesday, April 21, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.  Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C.  RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!   About the Artists and Exhibition   Park Hyewon explores the physical spaces in which human existence unfolds, using the house and notion of home as a central motifs. She employs red thread as her primary material, through which she visualizes life’s invisible processes and various “homes,” including in relationships, birth, and death. By winding, suspending, knotting, and weaving thread, she constructs spatial environments that express both visual and bodily experiences.   Park Hyewon uses thread as her primary sculptural language, weaving together time and relationships within her work. She uses her background in traditional Korean painting to expand the spatial concepts and perspectives of classical landscape painting into contemporary installation practices. Park received her BFA in Korean Painting from Kyung Hee University and an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art & Design in the United Kingdom. Park has held solo exhibitions in Korea, the UK, the United States, and Taiwan, and has participated in numerous international projects, curated exhibitions, and group shows. For more, visit https://www.instagram.com/hyewonrosapark.   Kim So Jeong draws on the traditional East Asian technique of baekmyo (ink line drawing) as she depicts aspects of everyday life with stark insight. The scenes she captures are often those overlooked or avoided, but in which dissonance lurks within beneath an orderly or perfect appearance. By re-presenting these within red-lined forms, she records and reframes various moments and incidents from contemporary life from a new and distinct vantage point.   Kim appropriates traditional presentation means such as lines, scrolls, and folding screens, as well as formalized historical Korean documentary paintings that illustrated royal ceremonies, protocols, and processions, to depict tense scenes of everyday life, including public protests. Kim hopes that the interpretive possibilities opened up by removing color and text will extend from the scenes she witnessed to the viewer. Kim has held solo exhibitions at venues including Boan1942 and OCI Museum, and has participated in numerous group exhibitions at spaces such as Hanwon Museum and Space Can. She received her BFA (2014) and MFA (2017) in Oriental Painting from Ewha Womans University College of Art and Design. For more, visit https://sojeong-kim.com.   Connecting Lines also features a third gallery, in addition to Park and Kim’s individual spaces, dedicated to archival documentation of the artists’ practices. Interviews, exhibition catalogs, and related materials invite visitors into a deeper understanding of the artists’ works and their evolution over time, connecting their own past, present, and future.   Collectively the exhibition synthesizes the artists’ reflections on human existence—from relationships between life and death to pivotal moments whose significance is only revealed in retrospect. Connecting Lines offers an opportunity to reconsider the layered meanings of our own lives that intersect and unfold through myriad lines, both visible and invisible. The House of One Peng  Park Hyewon  Red threads on PC pipe, installation view Sweet Home  Park Hyewon Embroidery on linen, 7.5cm, 2024 Por qué 01 Kim So Jeong Color on paper, 76x60 cm, 2025 Por qué 02 Kim So Jeong Color on paper, 76x60 cm, 2025