The Korean Embassy in Nigeria, alongside the Korean Cultural Center in Nigeria, co-hosted the 2016 Korean Culture Festival in the capital, Abuja, from Nov. 8 to 12.

A cross-cultural performance kicked off the five-day festival, followed by samples of Korean food, a seminar on traditional Korean cuisine and a Korean film festival.

For the opener, the Cultural Factory SE:UM performing group from Korea put on a show that mixed tunes played on a set of traditional Korean instruments with those on Western instruments.

When the songs “The Other Side" (이면), “Smell of The Water" (물내) and “Sa-Gye-Hwa" (사계화)” from the group’s repertoire, and also a Nigerian folk song, were played on the 12-stringed gayageum zither and the janggu drum, and as the traditional tunes were combined with the trumpet and saxophone, the harmonious sound wowed the audience in the auditorium. “The sound of the gayageum was amazing, and so were the performers,” said R. Maio, a Nigerian expert on percussion instruments.

Following the show, booths set up at the venue welcomed visitors to sample Korean dishes made jointly by a professional Korean chef and a Nigerian chef from the local Hilton Hotel. The dishes included bulgogi marinated beef, barbecued spare ribs, or galbi, stir-fried japchae noodles, savory jeon pancakes, and, of course, kimchi.

Traditional Korean beverages, like multigrain misutgaru powder drinks, ginseng liquor and wine made from omija berries, in particular, tickled the taste buds of the diners.



The festival welcomed more than 450 visitors, with high-ranking officials from the Nigerian government, in attendance, too, including Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs Monsurat Sunmonu and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory Ajakaiye Babatope. There were also ambassadors from Europe, Russia, Germany, Canada, Malaysia and Israel, as well as managers affiliated with Korean firms in Nigeria.



The Korean Culture Festival in Nigeria has been held on a yearly basis ever since the first-ever Korean Cultural Center on the African continent opened in Abuja in 2010. It has since become one of the biggest cultural festivals in Abuja, bringing in a growing number of visitors who apply for the limited number of tickets in advance so that they can be part of the Korean festival each year.

By Wi Tack-whan, Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writers
whan23@korea.kr