By Cherrie Anne E. Villahermosa
Variety News Staff

THE Korean community on Saipan welcomed the Year of the Pig yesterday with food and cultural presentations in Taga Hall at the World Resort Hotel.
Korean Association of Saipan members and their families prepared various kinds of rice cakes and “dukkuk” — rice dumplings with egg and beef in soup.
Jonathan Joo, a reelected officer of the association, said the rice cakes represented the kinds of people living in Korea — those who live behind the mountains, beside the mountains and on the mountains.
Members of the Korean church also performed Ban Fuk, a traditional Korean-Chinese dance.
Students from the Yong In Academy of Taekwondo on Saipan also put on a taekwondo exhibition.
Other performers included students from Angel Kindergarten and Karen Joo Ji Eun who did a solo traditional dance number.
A local dance group also performed island dance numbers.
According to the association, the lucky colors for this year are white and pink while the lucky number is 7.
The association also has a new set of officers this year. It held an election on Dec. 29, 2006 and chose Hannam Market owner Jun Soo Park as the new president.
Tae Hyung Yoon was elected vice president while Jonathan Joo was chosen as the secretary.
The other officers are Woo Jin An, treasurer; and Hyung Wook Park, In Bok Oh and Sung In Kim, directors.
The new officers were sworn in yesterday during the Lunar New Year celebration.
After the celebration, the officers and members went to the Korean Memorial Park in Marpi to pay their respects to compatriots who died here during World War II.
Among the guests of the Korean association yesterday were Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez, Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez, Speaker Oscar Babauta, Covenant-Saipan, Secretary of Commerce James Santos, Tony Benavente from the Saipan mayor’s office, Manases M. Manglona, permit manager of the Coastal Resources Management Office and Chang Son Kim, South Korea’s consul general on Guam.
The Korean Association said its two major projects for this year are the establishment of a Korean language school and the launching of a Korean weekly newspaper.