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Local fans react during a K-pop concert in Muscat, Oman, June 9, 2023. In this photo provided by the Korea-Arab Association.
Seoul, June 12 (Bizwire Korea) — To promote cultural exchange and introduce Korean art to local communities, a series of fascinating “Korean Wave” (Korean Wave) cultural events are taking place in the heart of the Middle East, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman.
On Friday, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Oman, in partnership with the Korea-Arab Association, orchestrated a spectacular K-pop concert that captured the collective local imagination.
The concert, held at the Oman Convention Center in Muscat, attracted a local crowd of around 1,500, who erupted in thunderous applause as K-pop idol group BIG took to the stage.
Local media, including The Times of Oman, hailed the concert as a valuable opportunity for the fusion of Korean and Arabic contemporary music.
The Korea-Arab Society is a well-known public-private non-profit foundation established in 2008 as a firm beacon of economic, cultural, academic and people-to-people exchanges between the two regions.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the UAE’s Korean Cultural Center presented its seventh Korean Film Festival at Abu Dhabi’s Vox Cinemas, which continued its cinematic appeal through Sunday under the theme “Friendship”.
Eight standout Korean films graced the festival with opening titles including the riveting “Manhunt” and the riveting “Night Owl.”
An official at the Korean Cultural Center expressed hope that the annual festival will strengthen cultural exchanges between South Korea and the UAE and expand the deep partnership that exists between the two countries.
Hallyu fans pose for a photo during the Korean Film Festival at Vox Cinemas in Abu Dhabi on June 10, 2023, courtesy of the Korean Cultural Center in the UAE.
Given the growing interest in K content and tourism from governments across the Middle East, a number of cultural collaborations have been launched.
The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) announced on Thursday that it has entered into a partnership with the Mohammad bin Rashid (MBR) Library in the United Arab Emirates to promote the bilateral content industry.
As part of this partnership, KOCCA has generously donated a collection of K-content-related books to enrich the library’s services.
Located in Dubai, the MBR Library is proud to be the largest public library in the Middle East, with a collection of more than 1.1 million books and media materials, including specialist collections.
With its sprawling 54,000-square-meter facility, the library can easily accommodate around 1,000 visitors at any one time.
With its 500-seat theater and sophisticated cultural spaces utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), holograms and intelligent robots, the library is an iconic Dubai landmark.
Since its state visit to the UAE in January, KOCCA has been eager to support the partnership with the MBR library to foster the content industries in Korea and the UAE in a mutually beneficial direction.
A person in charge of KOCCA gave an explanation, emphasizing the significance of this book donation.
“By laying the groundwork for content users in the Middle East to effortlessly acquire information related to K-content and K-culture, which has recently become a key vehicle for the proliferation of Hallyu, we aspire to promote the flow,” the official said.
The allure of K-pop has gained massive traction in the Middle East in recent years.
The Korea International Exchange Foundation revealed that as of December 2021, the number of Hallyu fans in the Middle East and North Africa region has reached a staggering 156.6 million, more than 100 times that of ten years ago.
Lina Zhang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
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