5 ways to involve yourself in Korean culture as a Fort Collins resident
Whether it be from learning about the Korean War back in ninth grade or binge watching “Squid Game” last year, many have at least heard of Korea.
Korean culture is now more popular than ever before thanks to Korean pop culture. However, many people in smaller towns and areas are unfamiliar with how they can participate and immerse in this rich culture.
So, how can people in Fort Collins get involved in Korean culture?
Try some Korean food
One of the best ways to experience a culture is through its food. Every dish has a story, so trying Korean food is one of the easiest and tastiest ways to experience Korean culture.
When visiting a traditional Korean restaurant, the main dish will often be accompanied by side dishes or “banchan.” The banchan usually consists of kimchi, potato salad and jeon, just to name a few.
There is a locally owned Korean restaurant in Fort Collins called Suh Sushi Korean BBQ. Suh Sushi Korean BBQ offers a wide variety of Korean food as well as Japanese food.
They also offer the Korean BBQ experience where customers can grill their own meat at the table. This is a very common practice as most Korean BBQ restaurants in Korea have the customers grill their own meat as well.
Some of my favorite dishes from Suh Sushi Korean BBQ are the spicy pork bulgogi and the LA galbi. The menu also offers soju and other Korean alcoholic beverages if that sparks interest.
Attend the NoCo Korean Culture Festival
On Sept. 24, the Korean community of Fort Collins will host a second annual NoCo Korean Culture Festival at Old Town Square.
Early September last year, the Korean community of Fort Collins held the first NoCo Korean Culture Festival. Everyone at the festival had the chance to hear traditional Korean music, watch people dance to K-pop, watch a taekwondo routine and enjoy Korean drinks and snacks free of cost.
Attending the NoCo Korean Culture Festival is an easy way to immerse yourself in Korean culture without feeling the need to commit to anything. It is just a few fun hours of experiencing a colorful and interesting culture through its food, people and art.
Who knows? The festival might also be a great opportunity to meet more people who are interested in learning about or are already familiar with Korean culture themselves. Plus, who doesn’t love free snacks?
Try going to a Korean Church
Of course going to a Korean church is for a more niche group of people since not everybody follows the religion of Christianity, but if going to church is already in your daily routine, trying out attending a Korean church may not be a bad idea.
Many Korean churches hold community to a very high standard, so after service, most Korean church members eat together at the church. Many churches also offer Sunday service, Friday worship and even morning worship.
Going back to the first point of trying Korean food, some Korean churches have volunteers cook lunch for the members of the church. They are able to feel a sense of community while eating together.
However, something to keep in mind is that a church is a place of worship, so it is important to be respectful if you plan on attending one.
Fort Collins has a Korean church called Korean Church of Fort Collins. They meet every Sunday at 11 a.m. and have food together after each sermon.
Join a K-pop cover group
A huge part of Korean culture is Korean pop culture. K-pop and K-dramas have been taking the world by storm.
K-pop has been particularly popular due to the music, visuals and personality of the members but also widely because of their amazing and complex choreographies. Many K-pop dance cover groups have been emerging.
Northern Colorado has many groups as well. Fort Collins alone has COKO Choreo, KDCSU and Aero, KDCSU’s subunit, just to name a few. KDCSU and COKO are both CSU clubs. Both Aero and COKO practice their covers and post them on their respective YouTube channels. Both KDCSU and COKO are planning to perform at the NoCo Korean Culture Festival as well.
Joining a K-pop dance cover group is a great opportunity to meet friends and people who are interested in K-pop and Korean culture. It’s also a great way to get a workout in.
Being a part of a K-pop dance cover group, however, is quite a commitment. The cover groups invest many hours to practice these choreographies. Although it is a fun way to be involved and a way to make lifelong friends, commitment is something very important to keep in mind before joining.
Take a Korean language course
Language is a key factor to a country’s culture. Especially in Korea, their language, hangul, is something that the nation and its people take great pride in.
Colorado State University, as well as other universities in Northern Colorado such as CU Boulder offer Korean language courses. CSU offers three different levels of Korean — beginner, intermediate and advanced.
Taking a Korean course will allow you to learn the language, but it is enriching in so many other ways.
The Korean course offered at CSU also holds an annual Korean Learner’s Scholarship. The instructor also makes sure to add days to learn about Korean culture as well. For example, there will be days where she brings in traditional Korean clothing for the class to wear or brings Korean traditional games to play during class.
Overall, even the small town of Fort Collins has many opportunities for its residents to immerse themselves in Korean culture, so next time you hear a BTS song on the radio or binge watch “Single’s Inferno” on Netflix, keep in mind what else you can do to learn more about the rich Korean culture and community within Fort Collins.
