Mongolia adds two golds at ongoing 'culture Olympics' in S. Korea

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By Shin Hae-in
JEJU ISLAND, South Korea, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- Mongolian performers won gold
medals in the calligraphy and double-reed woodwind competitions, leading an
ongoing global cultural contest in South Korea, organizers of the International
Delphic Games said Sunday.
The third Delphic Games, to be held through Sept. 14 on the South Korean island
of Jeju, have drawn 395 people from 35 countries, all hoping to showcase their
talents and cultural heritage. Participants perform in 18 competitions in six
large categories: music and acoustic arts; performing arts; crafts, design and
visual arts; linguistic arts; communication and social arts; and architecture and
ecological arts.
The closing ceremony will be held Monday, a day earlier than previously
scheduled, when most of the performers will return home, organizers said.
Mongolia's Dagva Ganbaatar won gold in the calligraphy games, an individual
competition within the crafts, design and visual arts sector, while China's Gu
Qiongqiong won silver and South Korea's Jang Min-kyung won bronze. Twelve
participants from five countries took part in the contest.
Mongolia took another gold in the traditional double-reed woodwind instruments
games, also an individual competition within the music and acoustic arts section,
with Magasarjav Chimedtogtoh playing the country's traditional trumpet. South
Korea's Yoon Hyoung-wook took the silver while India's Prashanna Gogoi won the
bronze. South Korea's Jin Yun-kyong won the Delphic Laurel Award, given to
competitors who blend characteristics of their local culture with innovative
techniques, with 11 people from eight countries participating.
In the drawing games, Germany's Benno Zoller won the gold, the first for the
country, while South Korea's Kee Young-sook won silver and Venezuela's Luis Gomez
Rincon won bronze. Thirty-five performers from 14 countries took part in drawing,
one of the largest competitions in the Delphic Games.
In the shadow play games, a group competition within the performing arts sector,
the South Korean team, Noni, won the gold while India's Leather Puppet took
silver and Kore's Dummy Theater won the bronze. The Delphic Lyre Award, given to
the competitor who best blends different cultures in the performance, went to the
team from the Philippines.
The remaining games are the book art competition, the dance improvisation
competition, the outdoor space design competition and the percussion competition,
the winners of which will be announced later Sunday and Monday, the final day of
the event.
Under the theme "Tuning into Nature," this year's Delphic Games opened on Jeju
Island Wednesday, with performers from 54 countries gathering for the
competitions, as well as special performances and lectures.
The Delphic Games originated in the ancient Greek culture festivals held every
four years at the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi. With representatives from 18
nations founding the International Delphic Council in 1994, the first round of
the culture Olympics was held in Russia and the second in Malaysia in 2005. The
event in South Korea is the largest so far.
Winners will receive the gold, silver or bronze Delphic Medal Award, as well as
the Delphic Laurel Award, the Delphic Peace Award and the Delphic Lyre Award,
which can be also awarded to medalists.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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