▲ On May 10, the 5th Foreigners’ Festival

On May 10, the 5th Foreigners' Festival was held in Munseong-dong, Cheonan in commemoration of 2015 Together Day.

The annual event was attended by 50-plus diplomats from 10 foreign embassies in the country including Sri Lankan Ambassador Tissa Wijeratne, Kyrgyzstan Ambassador Chotonov Duishenkul, Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Huu Chi, and Cambodian Ambassador Suth Dina.

First held in 2011, Foreigners' Festival seeks to provide foreigners in the country with an opportunity to enjoy their local culture and help locals understand multiple cultures better.

At the event, food zones and culture zones related to the following countries were operated: Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Sri Lanka.

Agencies and institutions related to foreigners also operated multiculture zones, information expo, nail art shops, and the like.

In addition, immigration and labor-related booths cooperated with consuls and those from social welfare service offices and employment permit system centers of the relevant countries to offer the relevant consultations to participating foreigners. Free medical services were also provided to the participants.

In particular, the culture zone put a box for the donation of funds to help the victims of the recent earthquake in Nepal, and many people took part.

Members of local multicultural clubs gave a performance. Eight teams competed with each other in a global song contest.

The 2015 Cheonan-si Firefly Family Song Contest was also held as an event wherein locals and foreigners spent a joyous time together.

Compared to last year, this year's event offered more things to see and more diverse cultural experiences to be had.

According to the participants, the event could really help foreigners and locals understand each other and live peacefully as close neighbors.

The 5th Foreigners' Festival was hosted by the Chungcheongnam-do Provincial Government and Cheonan-si, sponsored by the Cheonan Support Center for Foreign Workers and Heaven Central Church, and supported by 20-plus institutions, with about 6,000 people in attendance.