Yoon Han-byum(’16, Dept. of Nursing Science) said, “From when I was young, I have been taught by my parents that I should use chopsticks correctly because it is a part of Korean table manners. Especially on a special day like Korean Thanksgiving Day, when my family and relatives gather, I focus much more on using chopsticks appropriately.” As he said, we all had the experience where we were taught how to use chopsticks, and we all have used chopsticks a lot. Compared to knives and forks, which are used in the West, chopsticks contain our own culture, which has been passed down through generations.
  Recently, a lot of effort has gone into spreading this chopsticks culture. Cheong-ju in particular declared that November 11th is Chopsticks Day, and last year, for the first time, they decided to hold the Chopsticks Festival, in which Japan and China also took part. They made it in consultation with the national chopsticks associations in Japan and China. The interesting thing is that this festival was not just a one-off event, but it will be held every year in order to promote a variety of projects such as specializing chopsticks as a cultural product, building a village out of chopsticks and having them added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
  The 2nd Chopsticks Festival will commence on the upcoming November 11th, and it will end on November 27th at the Cheong-ju Culture Industry Complex. On the first day of the festival, an academic meeting will be held, and many experts will participate to discuss the festival. The main events, such as a contest for using chopsticks and a team event, will begin on the second day. After those events, the winners will be awarded a trophy. In addition, from each country, some national troupes will perform dances to the rhythm of music. A special exhibition is also going to be held in accordance with the topics of life, beauty, and fun.
  A manager of the cultural foundation, Byeon Gwang-seop, emphasized the significance of chopsticks and encouraged CBNU students to join the festival, “Chopsticks are the only common tool that Korea, Japan, and China have used for more than a thousand years. We must learn how to use them because it is not that simple and they only work when they are in pairs, which references the culture of harmony. Considering that Cheong-ju was selected as a cultural city of East Asia last year and it is a place where a lot of relics related to chopsticks have been excavated, we came to the conclusion that Cheong-ju is the most suitable city for holding the Chopsticks Festival. I will be very happy if many CBNU students are willing to join the festival and learn about chopsticks in more detail.”
  This festival will give us a chance to experience various events related to chopsticks so that we can be of some help in spreading this culture to foreigners who are not used to using chopsticks.

By Lee Seong-ho
shl36@cbnu.ac.kr