'Korea Live' brings Korea's vibrant culture to Egypt

CAIRO - 5 September 2023: Korea Live, a hybrid Korean culture week is set to kick off on Friday, Sep 8, at the National Museum of the Egyptian Civilization at 7:00 p.m.

 

Organized by the Korean Cultural Center in Egypt, the festival will bring a variety of Korean music, culture and arts activities that are continuing until Sep. 14. 

 

In the opening ceremony, audiences will enjoy live stage folk performances, composed of Korean traditional music and dance. Aswell, they will have a chance to discover Korea’s unique music through different traditional Korean instruments including gayageum and daegeum. 

 

The performances will include Pansori, Korean folk opera and UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, a narrative song typically performed by a vocalist, accompanied by a buk (double-headed barrel drum).  

 

It will also include Samul nori, a genre of traditional percussion music.  Samul nori is performed with four instruments, each of which symbolizes an element of nature: janggu, the hour-glass shaped drum that represents the rain; buk, which represents the clouds; jing, a large gong that represents the wind; and kkwaenggwari, the small, handheld gong that represents thunder.

 

A part of the Korean culture week, an exhibition will feature a large scale of Korea's rich cultural heritage items including Korean traditional musical instruments, living space in Korea, and hanji.

 

Hanji is Korea’s traditional handmade paper and paper used to be called ‘White Paper’ as the paper represents a pure heart and a strong spirit of the Korean. 

 

As well, the exhibition will showcase Korean traditional musical instruments as well as the daily living items inside the traditional Korean houses.  

 

The exhibition will include VR booth where people will have a chance to enjoy the dazzling scenery and fascinating heritage in Korea. 

 

Spectators will enjoy the experience of wearing Korean Hanbok while exploring how it became an integral part of Korean lives for centuries and its evolution in modern days. 

 

Korean literature will be strongly present in the culture week, through K-book booth where visitors can pursue their passion for exploring Korea’s cultural identity via literature. 

 

In a special ceremony, the renowned Korean novelist Jeong You Jeong will share her thoughts and motivations inspired by her captivating novel ‘Seven Years of Darkness’ which has been recently published in Egypt, in Arabic language. As well, she will give a reading from his novel. Meanwhile, attendees will have the opportunity to ask the author about her works and overall Korea’s literary atmosphere.

 

Furthermore, Prof. Choi Jin, a pioneering Korean Gayageum player will present a lecture at the Academy of Arts, on the Korean traditional musical instruments and the techniques of playing on Gayageum instrument. 

 

At the end of the week, young Egyptians who took part in the Korean traditional music-Gugak Academy and K-POP Academy, will present a fusion musical concert in the closing ceremony of the Korean culture week. 

 

The two annual workshops organized by the Center have been opened yesterday and will run over 2 weeks at the Academy of Arts, where 160 young Egyptians attended.

 

Oh, Sungho, Director of the Korean Cultural Centre said that choosing the National Museum of the Egyptian Civilization, which showcases Egyptian antiquities across various key historical phases, as a venue of the Korean Culture Week has a deep and meaningful significance in terms of enhancing the mutual cultural understanding between South Korea and Egypt.    

 

He added that promoting the cooperation between the two countries in creative and arts fields is the cornerstone of the cultural ties between the two countries, with their rich history and valuable heritage. 

 

Oh, Sungho hoped that the activities of the Korean Culture Week would meet the aspirations of the Egyptian audience while expanding their knowledge about Korea.