Seollal Family Day
Co-Presented by the Korean Cultural Center New York, Korea Creative Content Agency New York Business Center, and Korean Tourism Organization New York Office
Saturday, January 25th, 2025, 1 pm - 5 pm
Korean Cultural Center New York (122 E. 32nd Street, New York, NY 10016)
Admission: FREE (RSVP REQUIRED)
Following last year’s beloved celebration, Seollal Family Day returns to the Korean Cultural Center New York (KCCNY) on January 25th, 2025! This year, our event is open to the entire community. Our goal is to create a warm and inclusive environment where friends and families can come together to share heartfelt New Year’s wishes and participate in the rich traditions of Seollal, the Korean New Year.
This year’s program offers an array of hands-on activities, including rice cake (tteok) making, cultural crafts, traditional games, and engaging storytelling sessions. One of the highlights of the day is creating and sharing your New Year’s wishes on the Hangeul Wall kiosk, adding a personal and reflective touch to this meaningful celebration. Additionally, don't miss the “Seollal with Pinkfong in NYC” pop-up experience, featuring Korea’s beloved cartoon characters!
Seollal Family Day 2025 continues KCCNY’s mission to provide an engaging cultural space for children and families to connect with Korean heritage. Whether you're rediscovering familiar customs or experiencing them for the first time, this event promises a heartwarming way to celebrate Seollal with your loved ones.
Please note: Tickets are free, but required for entry. Guests are allowed a maximum of 4 tickets per order. Guests without tickets may not be allowed entry due to safety and capacity purposes.
1. Make A New Year’s Wish! (1st Floor, Hangeul Wall)
Create your very own digital New Year’s message using our Hangeul Wall kiosk. Write your wishes in Korean, or have the kiosk translate it for you! Once your message is complete, it will be displayed on the Hangeul Wall for everyone to enjoy. Download a digital copy of your wish, or take a picture with it to keep as a special Seollal memory!
2. Pinkfong Pop-Up (1st Floor and Basement)
“Seollal with Pinkfong in NYC”: Go on an adventure with Korea’s beloved cartoon characters as they celebrate Seollal traditions with cheerful traditional music! Enjoy a 5-minute video on our media wall, where Pinkfong, Baby Shark, and the Shark Family take us on a journey through Gyeongbok Palace and Cheomseongdae Observatory. Not only do they transport us to Korea’s iconic landmarks, but they also celebrate the New Year by showcasing the beauty of Korean traditional attire, lanterns, and lucky pouches. Discover your favorite characters in a whole new light!
Lobby: Get hands-on in the interactive kids’ zone! There will be several activities for children to choose from: a giant coloring zone, a puzzle station, and a photo zone.
Basement: Enjoy a screening of Pinkfong Sing-Along Movie 3: Catch the Gingerbread Man in our auditorium. There will be multiple screenings throughout the day, allowing you to enjoy everything Family Day has to offer!
Running Time: 65 minutes
Showtimes: 1 pm, 2:15pm, 3:30pm (last screening will end ~4:45pm)
3. Seollal Experience Zone (2nd Floor, Gallery)
Explore interactive booths to experience traditional Seollal culture:
Seollal Sticker Kits: Use our custom-made sticker kits to dress characters in traditional Korean attire (hanbok) and set up a ceremonial table (charyesang).
Hangeul Keychain: Say “I love you” (사랑해) or “Thank you” (고마워) by customizing your very own hangeul keychain!
Giant Yutnori Game: Play Korea’s most popular board game for the holidays! Winners will receive a small prize while supplies last.
Photo Zone: Capture festive memories with Maumy and Eggybaby against the backdrop of a traditional Korean house (hanok)!
Learn how to make beautiful traditional 떡 (tteok) with Rice Blossoms:
In celebration of Seollal, Rice Blossoms will be demonstrating how to make 꽃산병 (kkot-san-byeong), a local traditional rice cake. Each decoration on the rice cake symbolizes good fortune, well wishes, and protection for the New Year.
Plaid Pattern: casts out evil spirits
Cartwheel: best wishes moving forward
Lotus Pattern: wealth and prosperity
Note: A separate reservation is required for the rice cake making workshop, recommended for ages 5 and up.
Ingredients: rice flour, water, sugar, red bean paste, white bean paste, cinnamon, and lemon
All other activities are included in the General Admission RSVP, and are first come first serve.
4. Seollal Storytime (3rd Floor, Library)
Come listen to captivating readings of picture books about Seollal:
Let’s Celebrate Korean New Year by Hyewon Yum (Illustrator) and Michelle Park (Author)
Reading by Hyewon Yum
Author-led drawing demonstration to follow reading
Wish Soup by JungHwa Park
Reading by JungHwa Park
Interactive author-led tteokguk (rice cake soup) collage activity to follow reading
Join us at 2pm or 4pm.
Both books will be available for purchase and signing after each session. Attendees are also welcome to bring their own copies for the book signing.
About the Participating Partners and Artists
Korea Creative Content Agency
Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) supports the creation, distribution, business growth, and overseas expansion of many different industries, including broadcasting, video games, music, fashion, animation, comics, IP, and new technology convergence content. KOCCA is dedicated to enriching lives and sparking joy by turning Korea into a major player in the content industry worldwide. KOCCA plans to systemically and strategically support these creative industries by closely working with stakeholders, relevant organizations, and local promotion centers.
Korea Tourism Organization
Welcome to Korea. We are pleased to offer you the most up to date tourism information about our country. Korea Tourism Organization serves as a leading establishment for global tourism, dedicated to providing enjoyable travel experiences. Korea is renowned for its cultural phenomena, encompassing K-pop, K-food, K-Drama, and K-beauty, offering a rich array of immersive cultural activities. In line with these trends, the Korea Tourism Organization is committed to delivering a diverse range of innovative tour experiences.
www.visitkorea.or.kr
The Pinkfong Company
The Pinkfong Company is a global entertainment company that delivers content and entertaining experiences around the world. Driven by award-winning brands and IPs, the company has created and distributed a range of content across genres and formats including original animated series, world live tours, interactive games, and more. Believing in the power of entertaining and engaging content, The Pinkfong Company is committed to connecting people around the world and bringing joy and inspiration to worldwide audiences of all ages. www.thepinkfongcompany.com/en/
Maum
MAUM is a bi-coastal collaborative company based in LA and NY, rooted in the philosophy of placing people first. Our community-minded projects include the largest Asian makers’ market MAUM Market, Asian goods and gift shop MAUM Store, and our original merchandise and mascots known collectively as MAUM Cloud.
MAUM Market is the original, largest Asian makers’ market founded in 2022 in Los Angeles. Our mission is to craft a mindfully curated, premium pop-up shopping experience celebrating Asian artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs. We aim to create a safe, supportive space for emerging and established Asian-owned businesses in collaboration with cultural institutions, historical landmarks, and mixed-use properties. We believe that representation matters and continue to build our platform through place creation, mindful curation, and meaningful collaboration with partners in California and New York.
Rice Blossoms
After becoming a new mom, Jennifer Ban struggled to find healthy snacks for her daughter that were actually tasty. In her search, she stumbled upon the craft of piping tteok (rice cake) during a trip to South Korea and instantly fell in love with everything about it. She appreciated the simplicity of ingredients and transparency of what actually goes into the Korean treat. Jennifer Ban makes each Rice Blossoms tteok and dessert with the same care and joy she has when preparing them for her own daughters, and is on a mission to create a snack that is steamed with love and in her words, preciously delicious!
Hyewon Yum
Hyewon Yum is a South Korean author and illustrator of numerous acclaimed books for children, including Saturday is Swimming Day, The Twins' Blanket, Mom, It's My First Day of Kindergarten! and The Ode to a Bad Day. Yum has received the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award, and a Charlotte Zolotow Award commendation, among many other awards. Born and raised in South Korea, she currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Junghwa Park
Junghwa Park is a Korean-born American immigrant and artist living in Jersey City, New Jersey. She graduated with a BFA in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts in 2014 and was the Grand Prize Winner of SCBWI’s Winter 2020 Portfolio Showcase. She has collaborated with Pottery Barn, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Poetry Foundation and more. Junghwa’s published works include While Grandpa Naps by Naomi Danis, which went on to appear in the New York Times; Bunnybee; and 12 Days of Kindness by Irene Latham. Wish Soup is her North American author-illustrator debut.