One of Seoul’s autumn festivals, the annual Seoul Africa Festival, was held on Saturday October 12, 2024
at Banpo Hangang Park near the Han River, in Seoul.
The 7th edition of the festival attracted thousands of Africans, Koreans, and people of other foreign nationalities to celebrate the African continent’s diversity, culture, and talent in Korea.
It was organized by AfricaSite, a nonprofit corporation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a designated donation organization by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and an NGO with special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and supported by the Seoul Metropolitan Government (Cultural Policy Division 2024 Private International Cultural Exchange Revitalization Project).
Celebrated with pleasant autumn weather, and a bright afternoon in Seoul, the festival was adorned by
a colorful parade, an official opening ceremony, music and dance performances, a fashion show, an
awards ceremony with a DJ performance, 13 free cultural activities (including 2 African food experiences) for all ages and 28 organization booths were part of the festival.
This year, the festival’s signature event was the Asia Africa Talent Award (AFTA), a particularly interesting program that, with more than 150 teams competing in the Asia Africa Talent Award worldwide, only 8 teams have been selected to perform at the festival.
According to the organizers’ press release, the “Booth Zone” featured 21 Africa-related public
institutions, communities, non-profits, social enterprises, arts organizations, and academic/student
groups, including the Ethiopian and Rwandan Embassies in Korea. These organizations were engaging
with the public in introducing their activities and offering free content and program participation
opportunities.
The opening ceremony was moderated by Rwandan broadcaster Maronko Moise, followed by a welcome speech by Choi Dong-hwan, President of the host organization, Africasite, and congratulatory remarks by Nkubito Manzi Bakuramutsa, Ambassador of Rwanda to Korea, and Kim Young-chae, former
Ambassador of Nigeria to Korea, who was appointed as the third President of the Korea Foundation for
Africa in September 2024.
The festival’s opening ceremony was attended by more than 100 guests from nine African diplomatic missions to Korea, including ambassadors from six countries – Angola, Senegal, Ethiopia, Sudan, Zambia, and Rwanda – and diplomats representing the embassies of Tanzania, Sierra Leone, and Ghana, as well as representatives from academic institutions, African diaspora communities, cultural organizations, businesses, and civil society organizations.
In addition, by dispatching 80 volunteers, the festival was environmentally friendly, with flogging activities and minimized disposable products, and with a private event to promote cultural diversity and global citizenship, held for the seventh time in Seoul city.
Organized by AfricaSite, a nonprofit organization, the event fosters dialogue and cooperation between
Africa and Asia, creating an unforgettable cultural experience that strengthens ties through the arts. Since 2016, the Seoul Africa Festival has been the first and the largest in the history of Korea that
celebrates Africa and promotes the various African communities in South Korea. The festival has
consistently drawn more than 50,000 attendees each year for the past six years.
All photos taken by Bereket Alemayehu.
