\u201cWhile set in a specific historical period, the story explores loyalty, friendship and human connection,\u201d Kim said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe these emotional bonds can bridge cultural gaps and resonate strongly with local audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n
The film highlights sacrifice and dignity while showing how humour and resilience endure in difficult circumstances.<\/p>\n
Kim said the theme of resilience would connect with Waikato audiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Zealanders value community and looking after one another,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe relationships in the film reflect that same sense of wh\u0101nau and connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
The festival will also feature Korean food stalls and traditional games.<\/p>\n
The event has support from South Korea\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and reflects a growing push to engage different communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past, most cultural activities were centred in Auckland,\u201d Kim said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBringing this festival to Hamilton reflects growing interest in Korean culture across regional New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kim said Hamilton stood out as the ideal host city.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a dynamic city where many cultures coexist.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe openness of local residents, combined with a passionate Korean community here, made it the right place for this event,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said the organisers wanted people to leave the event with a deeper understanding of Korea.<\/p>\n
By bringing the festival to Hamilton, organisers aim to strengthen cultural connections and expand access to international events beyond New Zealand\u2019s largest centres.<\/p>\n
\u201cCultural diversity should not be limited to major cities,\u201d Kim said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvents like this help build understanding and bring communities closer together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Korea Story Festival runs on April 18 at Hamilton Gardens\u2019 Pavilion from 1.30pm to 4pm. Entry is free.<\/p>\n
Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. Before he joined the Hamilton-based team, he worked for the Weekend Sun and Sunlive. He previously worked as a journalist at Black Press Media in Canada and won a fellowship with the Vancouver Sun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWhile set in a specific historical period, the story explores loyalty, friendship and human connection,\u201d Kim said. \u201cWe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384997,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[95,9063,2396,5131,593,564,4975,30407,6288,12022,3643,111,139,69,213,1961,61,4767,1533],"class_list":{"0":"post-384996","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-and","9":"tag-celebration","10":"tag-culture","11":"tag-festival","12":"tag-film","13":"tag-food","14":"tag-free","15":"tag-gardens","16":"tag-hamilton","17":"tag-host","18":"tag-korean","19":"tag-new-zealand","20":"tag-newzealand","21":"tag-nz","22":"tag-sports","23":"tag-this","24":"tag-to","25":"tag-weekend","26":"tag-will"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}