Korea festival expects more visitors this year

Cultural event will be held over eight days in Abu Dhabi City and Al Ain from Thursday

Residents will have the chance to immerse themselves in the rich culture of Korea with the upcoming Korea festival that starts on Thursday.

It will be the fourth time the festival is being held in Abu Dhabi after being launched in 2013, with this year’s edition running for eight days compared to previous years when it ran for three days only. For the first time, events will also be held in Al Ain.

The festival marks the latest of a series of events launched by South Korea to promote Korean culture in the UAE, which also saw the opening of the country’s official cultural centre in Abu Dhabi in March this year, the first such centre to be opened in the GCC.

“Since 2013 the Korea Festival has been one of the most representative events regarding Korean culture in the UAE. Last year we had over 3,500 visitors over three days, and so for this year’s festival we are expecting more visitors, including Emiratis, as the festival has expanded its activities,” said Park Hyokeon, director of the Korean Cultural Centre.

“The festival will be held at various venues, including the Abu Dhabi National Theatre, the Corniche, and UAE University in Al Ain, with each venue holding a different type of event.”

Park said that visitors would be treated to different activities, including popular Korean theatre, music, and dance.

“There will be many other things to enjoy as well as Korean food and cooking classes and Korean style kite flying and wrestling.

“The festival for the first time will also be holding the popular Korean theatre performance Hongdo — a classic Korean melodrama by Seongyu Im who has won several awards in Korea,” he added.

Park said that the holding of the Korea Festival in Abu Dhabi was a continued sign of the strengthening UAE-South Korea relationship.

“The relationship between both countries has strengthened in various fields such as education, security, health, and culture. We certainly hope to expand the cooperation between our two friendly countries,” he said.