Coronavirus: Auckland's Korean Day latest cultural event to fall victim to virus fears

Korean Day, Auckland's biggest celebration of Korean culture, is the latest cultural event to become a casualty of the coronavirus outbreak.

Organisers have announced that the event, which had been due to take place on March 14 at the North Shore Events Centre, has been postponed.

This follows the cancellation of the Auckland Lantern Festival and other public events celebrating Chinese New Year over the past three weeks.

"We have been advised of situations regarding coronavirus and have observed many events within New Zealand being cancelled," Auckland Korean Society president Kyungsook Wilson Byun said.

"After careful consideration, we have decided to re-schedule Korean Day 2020 to ensure the safety of everyone."

She said Korean Day was one of the society's most popular events and was very sad that it had to be postponed.

"We have worked so hard for the event and we believe that this additional time will make it more special and spectacular," Wilson Byun said.

She indicated the event could likely take place towards the end of the year.

The Auckland Lantern Festival, the country's largest event was due to run this weekend, but Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development announced its cancellation on Feb 4.

It was the first time in the 21-year history of the festival the event had been cancelled.

Several other Lunar New Year events, including the Whau Chinese New Year Festival and Northcote Chinese and Korean New Year festivals have also been cancelled.