The fifth annual Coming Together in Skokie event is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, Feb. 5 in the IRC during all periods except fifth.
Coming Together in Skokie is an event that is held by the Village of Skokie at Niles West, and highlights a specific culture each year with the help of groups of organizations and/or institutions. In the past, it has honored the Indian, Filipino, Assyrian, and Greek cultures. This year, it will be honoring the Korean culture. According to Korean Club president, senior Tina Kim, this event will allow everyone to get a glimpse of Korean culture and get to know it better, beyond the mainstream.
“I think it’s important for teachers to take their students to the IRC for this event because Korean culture is so prevalent in Niles Township. I’m pretty sure everyone has visited H-Mart at least once, heard Gangnam Style on the radio, or tried Korean BBQ,” Kim said. “While people are aware and exposed to the Korean community, they don’t really know anything about the culture or traditions. I hope this event will serve as a linking bridge for people to know more about Korean culture than to just brush the surface as outsiders.”
The IRC will be hosting the event all day Wednesday. There will be various stations consisting of a different aspects of the culture: dancing, drumming, food, games, and bookmarks being designed with students’ names in Korean. There will also be stations giving students the chance to learn how to dance and drum.
“The Korean kids have been very proud to show their culture. It’s interesting to see the different cultures and how lucky we are to have so many cultures to even show,” head librarian Sherry Baehr said.
Korean Club will be performing both traditional dances, such as the traditional lotus flower dance, as well as dances to modern KPop songs, a music genre that has become very popular over the past few years. There will be traditional drumming performances as well as servings of rice cake. Many of the students hosting the event will also be dressed in Korean outfits. In order to attend this event, teachers must have signed up a specific class.
The IRC will be closed the entire day to other students.
