The Department of East Asian Studies, in collaboration with the Center for East Asian Studies, celebrated its 7th annual East Asian Language and Culture Festival on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.
As the department’s signature event of the year, the festival highlighted cultural traditions from the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean language programs. Students participated in activities such as anime character cosplay, Chinese calligraphy, and traditional Korean games, including Gonggi, a popular children’s game involving five small pebbles or plastic stones. These hands-on experiences provided students with opportunities to connect with faculty, graduate students, and peers across the department.
The festival also featured an exciting lineup of performances by guest groups and student organizations. Highlights included the Sakura Tea Circle's calligraphy and Japanese tea ceremony demonstration; the Purple Bamboo Ensemble's vibrant traditional Chinese music; the Yosakoi club's energetic Japanese dance performance and engagement with the crowd; the VSA Lion Dance club with their masterful lion dance performance, performed in tandem with the Chinese Language Program's red ribbon dance performance; and Heart 'n' Seoul's wonderful cover performance of the K-pop girl group NMixx's latest hit song, Blue Valentine.
Leading up to the festival, the department held a social media photo contest where students submitted pictures of their time abroad in East Asia for a chance to win prizes. The following students were selected as winners of the photo contest:
1st place: Bianca Garcia, Buddha's Birthday
2nd place: Colin Koprowski, The Oriental Pearl Tower
See highlights of the event here!