By Ashley FILIPEK

On Friday, Rosemont Middle School students visited with students from the Glendale sister city of Goseong, Korea. The 22 exchange students were from 11 different schools in Korea and had come to California to take part in the culture, visit some of the sights, and give musical presentations to students at Toll Middle School, Wilson Middle School, Crescenta Valley High School and Rosemont Middle School.

The goals of the Sister City Program are to exchange cultural, educational and professional programs in each city and to share common problems and solutions that surround daily activities. The program also promotes interest and good will, with participants sharing attractions and ideas about natural resources with one another.

The students from Korea practiced for their performances for several months before their trip and prepared four presentations. They started off by doing a choreographed dance to a medley of popular Korean music. K-Pop, as it’s often referred to, typically consists of dance, electronic, hip-hop, rock and R&B. One of the songs included in the medley was the very popular “Gangnam Style” by PSY.

Afterwards the students took time for a quick costume change with the girls reemerging to perform a traditional Korean fan dance. They danced with fans painted with pink flowers and created formations that would represent images such as birds, flowers or waves.

The boys then demonstrated the art of tae kwon do in a choreographed routine that highlighted key elements of the martial art and also featured each of the boys doing a specialized move. The boys performed in synch with music that helped to “pump them up” and usually had sounds that emphasized their movements.

All of the students then returned to perform another dance to more popular Korean music.

The students at Rosemont were very encouraging of the performers and excited to see what they had to offer. The Korean students were grateful for the opportunity to make friends with some of the Rosemont students and share parts of their culture.

  Ashley FILIPEK, Ed HAMILTON