Waqar Naseem Wamiq
RIYADH – The Korean cultural festival “The 11th Korea-Arab Friendship Caravan” was held at the auspicious King Fahad Cultural Center organized and hosted by General Culture Authority (GCA), Korea-Arab Society (KAS), and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.
The festival attracted nearly 2,300 peoples with the majority of them being Saudi nationals including some 200 Koreans and more than 100 diplomats. The VIP guests of the event included Ambassadors of Philippines, Malaysia, Brazil, Singapore, Mexico, Cyprus, India, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Australia, Swiss, Saudi Ex-Chief of Protocol, Wallan Group vice chairman, professors of KSU, etc.
The festival showcase Korean food booths, Korean tourism promotion, Korean arts exhibition, Korean companies products exhibition, nuclear road show promotion and a main entertainment show that featured Korean culture. This was the first introduction of Korean traditional and modern culture to Saudi public, especially performed in one of the greatest venue in Riyadh, and hosted by Saudi government.
The show formally began with the rendition of the national anthems of both countries. The show consisted of two parts to introduce Korea’s traditional and modern dance and music to Saudi audience. Traditional Korean Dance and Music by “Jindo National Gugak Center” and B-boy Performance ‘Marionette’ by “Expression Crew”.
The first part saw traditional performances that included Samulnori (percussion quartet), Yeonheungmu (ladies’ dance enjoying a sunny spring day), Salpuri (the representative dance in Korea to show abstract expressionism, designated Korea’s Important Intangible Cultural Property No 97), and Pangut (multi-artistic entertainment that combines percussion music and dance, wishing for peace and good harvest).
The second part saw modern dances that included Marionette, which is a hip-hop-inspired performance that takes in the concept of a marionette show. Recreated as a b-boy musical show by Expression Crew, the resulting b-boy dance performance was a spectacle not seen before. Expression Crew won the “Battle of the Year” dance competition of the ‘World Cup of B-boy Dancing’ first time ever as an Asian team and appeared in various TV shows and commercials in Korea.
The audience was excited throughout the performance, cheering and shouting whenever they saw great movements or scenes of cohesive performers. Even the organizers got into the mood and were seen clapping in tune during the show.
The Korea-Arab Society (KAS) is a non-profit organization funded by the Korean and Arab governments, business entities, and relevant organizations to enhance exchange and cooperation between Korea and Arab countries. Established in 2008, KAS seeks to increase opportunities for cultural, economic, educational and academic exchange between the two regions by organizing various events and projects every year.
Since the establishment of KAS in 2008, the Korea-Arab Friendship Caravan aims to promote mutual understanding and communication between Korea and the Arab countries. The caravan offers various dynamic Korean cultural programs combining tradition and modernity to effectively introduce Korean culture and arts to the Arab region.
