Korea Festival keeps growing
Mainly Emirati audience flocks to National Theatre for the start of expanded event
ABU DHABI// Authentic food, games, martial arts and theatre plays were on show as the 16day Korea Festival kicked off in the capital yesterday. The much- expanded event aimed to offer the people of the UAE a glimpse of Korean culture, said Park Kang-ho, the country’s ambassador.
“This year, it kicks off at the National Theatre, but later, it will go to the Corniche.”
An audience, mostly Emirati, flocked to the theatre to take part in the festival.
Sadeeq bin Abdullah, 72, said he had been attending the festival since it started in 2013.
“Before, we did not know any Koreans, but now, many of our youth speak Korean,” he said.
“As the Quran says, we were created as different nations and tribes to get to know each other.” The opening day included a Korean speech contest for Emiratis, where they are tested on articulation, performance and content coherence. Nema Mahad, 24, was crowned winner for her speech about a Korean palace.
“I did not expect to win, I only participated for the experience. I think the theme this year re- volved around history and that is why they liked it,” she said. She began learning Korean while studying at Zayed University four years ago. “It was the first foreign language introduced, and I enrolled as a hobby.”
Her prize was a return flight to Seoul. “This will be my first visit there,” she said. Another highlight of the evening was a performance of the play Hongdo starring Yeh Jiwon, a famous actress in South Korea.
She will also be holding a Q&A session when her film, Hanji, is screened on Saturday.
The play, which is set in the 1930s during the Japanese occupation of Korea, has been receiving critical acclaim over the past two years, picking up several awards.
“It tells the story of a woman during that time, it is a tragedy,” said Eunjee Kim from the Korean embassy. Humaid Al Hammadi was one of the first visitors after the festival opened its doors at 4pm.
He took photos and videos of the booths, which he said he would then be sharing with his 1,223 followers on Instagram.
As the founder of the Emirati-Korean friendship society and a frequent visitor to South Korea, Mr Al Hammadi’s dedication to bringing the two cultures closer together is not new.
“I studied in Korea for a while, and I noticed the lack of familiarity between the two cultures,” he said.
“I then became a social media celebrity because I focus on Korea. I give detailed media reports where I tell the story of the place or icon and its history, or when I demonstrate a popular dish I explain its story and why they love it.”
He has also been paying visits to hospitals there which are treating Emirati patients, as there were 3,000 such patients there in 2015.
His plans include interviewing the imam of the first mosque in South Korea. Mona Al Buloushi, who co-founded a Korean club at the UAE University, said this year’s festival was better than before.
“We used to come every year and help the club’s members participate in the speech contest,” said the 25-year old.
“It is very important that the embassy develops the contest. The audience was full this time.”