hankyoreh

The construction of the first Korean folk village in the United States, designed to mark the centennial of Korean immigration to the U.S., is in its final stage, Korean-American promoters said Tuesday.

A dedication ceremony for two Korean folk statues called "dolhareubang" was held Tuesday in the village compound in Sedona, a U.S. city popular with tourists in Arizona, they said. The 3-meter-tall basaltic statues were donated by the South Korea's southern island province of Jeju.

The ceremony also celebrated the end of the second-stage construction work in which an information center on Korean culture and tourism was built.

The US$40 million project to build the folk village on 6.6 million square meters of land began in 2002 as part of a program to mark the centennial of Korean immigration to the U.S. The program was to be completed by 2010 after three stages of work.

An educational center on Korean folk customs and culture was also among the structures already built in the program jointly hosted by the Korean community in northern Arizona.

Organizers plan to begin the third-stage project next year, building a South Korea-U.S. Peace Park in a nearby city. The park will have a replica of Cheomseongdae, a 1,300-year-old astronomical observatory in South Korea's southeastern city of Gyeongju, along with an educational center, outdoor performance hall and accommodations.

Lee Seung-heon, the chief organizer, expected the folk village to become a major attraction for about five million tourists who visit Sedona every year.

"We'll do our best to make the facility into a place where Korean immigrants and their children can experience the spirit of Korean peace and where travellers from all over the world can learn about the beauty of traditional Korean culture," Lee said.

Sedona, United States, Sept. 19 (Yonhap News)