It wouldn’t be March without St. Patrick’s Day.

One of Seoul’s most popular and widely participated cultural events, the 12th Saint Patrick’s Festival in Seoul will celebrate Ireland’s national day from 12-6 p.m. on Saturday in the D-Cube Plaza in Seoul.

This year’s festival will concentrate on the music and dance performances popular at previous festivals.

The open air concert that has become synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day in Seoul will be the centerpiece of the event, which is known for its keen participation by members of both the Irish community and Koreans.

There will be traditional folk-dances and live Irish music, both traditional and popular rock, coming from Korea. Musicians from Ireland will also feature heavily on the bill. The festival will also feature a performance by the United States 8th Army Band, who will perform Irish songs.

The public will also get a chance to be involved -- folk-dancing, which has grown in popularity every year, will take place at the main stage. Everyone, young and old, will get a chance to come up and try some of the lively dances.

Seoul Gaels will put on a display of Gaelic football -- Ireland’s unique national sport. The Gaels, one of the most successful teams in Asia, hosted the Asian Gaelic Games in Korea in September, attracting teams from all over Asia.

This year the festival plans to pay tribute to those of Irish birth and heritage who died in the Korean War. Next year is the 60th anniversary of end of the war and the Irish Association hopes to dedicate an inclusive memorial in 2013 to those Irish killed during the conflict.

The memorial will recall those of Irish birth and heritage who fought and died, particularly at Happy Valley; those of Irish birth and heritage who fought in the service of the U.N., regardless of which country they fought for; and those civilians who died side by side with the Korean people, in particular the Columban fathers and sister who died.

The association will be fund-raising for the memorial at the event and will be grateful for all donations.

The festival is promises to be a great day out for families -- there will be face painting for the kids, plenty of balloons and balloon art with clowns. To make sure you have enough energy for all this there will be Irish stew and other Irish foods available.

Following the festivities in D-Cube, there will be a “hooley,” (Irish party) in the Rocky Mountain Tavern in Itaewon starting at 7 p.m. The tavern will host two floors of music -- traditional Irish music downstairs and a more contemporary, rock sound upstairs.

We hope to be able to show the Six Nations rugby match between Ireland and England at 2 a.m.

Founded in 1996, The Irish Association of Korea is a group of volunteers, both Irish and Korean, who promote Irish culture in Korea. All over the world, St. Patrick’s Day is a great example of sharing and celebrating cultural diversity together.

By Shauna Browne

Shauna Browne is social media officer for the Irish Association of Korea. She can be reached at iak.publicity@gmail.com. ― Ed.