Crowds of people arrived at the Milad Tower in Tehran with anticipation on their faces. The Korean TV and pop music fans in the Iranian capital were heading to a screening of some Korean TV shows.

On May 2, a screening of Korean TV shows was held as part of the Korea Culture Week, organized in honor of President Park Geun-hye's state visit to Iran. The success of the screening was pretty much expected before the event even begun, as the 100-odd seats prepared for the event were all taken only three hours after tickets were made available.

Some episodes from the latest period pieces that are on air in Korea were shown. There was the first episode of "Jang Yeong-sil" (장영실) by KBS and an episode of "Six Flying Dragons" (육룡이 나르샤) by SBS, along with highlights from MBC's "The Flower in Prison" (옥중화). In particular, the show "Jang Yeong-sil," about a Joseon scientist, gained a lot of attention thanks to the fame of its lead actor, Song Il-gook. The actor became famous in Iran with his performance in another period piece, "Jumong" (주몽), that was aired in Iran in 2008.



As the curtains closed on the screening, staff from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, who also attended the event, requested some more copies of the shows, showing their willingness to purchase distribution rights to the shows. The audience, as well, hoped to see the shows on Iranian TV as soon as possible.

"I'm deeply moved that I can watch Korean TV shows in this official event here in Iran," said Sina, one of the audience members. Sina has been interested in Korea since 2009 after watching some Korean TV shows and is now a co-moderator of Pracles, the largest "Korean Wave" community in Iran.



Iran's curiosity for all things Korean was also on display in the art exhibit "Empty Fullness" that features Korean modern art pieces. Monochrome paintings, or dansaekwha, by 10 painters, including Kim Taek-sang and Suh Seung-won, and moon jar porcelain works by five potters, are on display in the exhibit and it runs until May 29.

"I never had any opportunity to enjoy Korean modern art, though I've been studying Korean at the King Sejong Institute and trying to learn more about Korea and Korean art ever since I saw the Korean costume drama 'Jewel in the Palace' (대장금) some years ago," said Khosravi Maryam, a university student. "I was able to see another side of Korea thanks to this modern art exhibit that was held in honor of President Park Geun-hye's state visit to Iran," she said.

By Chang Iou-chung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Jeon Han
icchang@korea.kr