SINGAPORE : Awash in face paint and decked in flashy green and blue, the performers were sprawled across the rolling green parks beside Hangang (Seoul’s Han River).

Disguised as creatures of the river, the “frog” performers in skin-tight suits showed off their gymnastic moves, while the “birds”, suspended from giant floating balloons, somersaulted in mid-air.

The biggest crowd pleasers were the blue “water spirits” balancing on 3m-tall stilts — Korean parents jostled forward with their children, eager for a photo opportunity with them.

Not far away, eight energetic musicians were in the throes of a mini-concert on wheels — or more specifically, a 2m-high musical vehicle made of metal junk and used rubber tubing.

Against it all, live jazz played. And after a while I wondered if I was feeling dizzy from the searing heat or the cacophony of activities unravelling around me.

This was the inaugural 2008 Summer Hi Seoul Festival.

While past Hi Seoul Festivals were annual affairs held mainly in spring, this marked the first year that the city is staging events with different themes throughout the four seasons, with Hangang as the permanent fixture of the summer portion.

Organised by the Seoul Foundation for Arts & Culture, the main purpose of the nine-day event was to bring citizens back to the Hangang, said the event’s manager Kim Young Ho.

Although the river was a focal point of daily activities in the ’60s, decades of industrialisation, development and pollution had alienated citizens from their river. Even a massive clean-up exercise by the authorities in the late 1980s failed to draw them back.

“Koreans have fond memories of the river,” he said. “They liked to swim in it and in the ’60s, people could even drink from it. Today, few know that the river’s water is drinkable again.”

To re-connect citizens with what was once a national symbol of Seoul, more than 16 performances, street parades and water activities such as canoeing and banana boating were lined up for the festivals in various parks dotted along the riverbank.

A highlight of the festival was the quirky “Hanging Birdman” contest, where participants would win 100 million won (S$130,000) if they could “fly” across the 1.6km wide river in their self-created gliders. None of the 300 contestants managed to cross it, but the organisers gave out S$1,000 and S$2,000-cash awards for individuals and teams that flew the furthest.

There were also prizes for the funniest machines and the most ridiculous costume — all in the name of good fun and a dip in the Han River.

Upping the wow factor was the Monster Ballet, which featured Kim Yong Geol, Asia’s first soloist from the Paris Opera Ballet. In his first foray into choreography, Kim matched his movements to that of industrial machines in a nod to the history of Seoul’s development.

While Seoul Foundation’s Mr Kim said it is still not clear if the shows will be repeated for future festivals, he has promised “ice-themed-fun” when the oppressive summer heat descends upon the banks of Hangang in 2009.

“An ice house, ice castle and ice pools,” he said. “Koreans who hate the sun will have these to look forward to next year.”

- TODAY/rose