During the opening of the "K‑Pop Meets Korean Traditional Music" exhibition—part of the 2025 Touring K‑Arts Programme—at the Korean Cultural Centre in Abuja, Director Jeon Ju Ho announced that the Korean government is actively pursuing music collaborations between Nigerian and Korean artists. Though such cross-cultural projects haven’t yet been fully launched, they are now on the agenda.
Key points:
The centre plans to introduce Korean traditional music (instruments and symbols) into Nigerian Afrobeats, and equally aims to introduce Nigerian traditional music in Korea.
K‑Pop incorporates traditional Korean elements—like traditional masks and drum performances—and building on this, they see a natural opportunity to fuse it with Afrobeats, which has also gained worldwide popularity.
A notable first crossover was by Korean artist Paradice collaborating with Nigerian singer Bima on “Go Go Go”, which garnered 11 million YouTube likes in just one week. There are also cultural exchanges such as Jang (Korean drum) lessons by Nigerian drummers.
leadership.ng
While no formal budget is yet allocated, KCCN offers its network and facilitation to connect Nigerian and Korean artists with relevant cultural institutions.
This initiative reflects a broader strategy by the Korean Cultural Centres and National Gugak Center—to leverage shared musical heritage and global trends (K‑Pop and Afrobeats) to deepen cultural ties between Nigeria and South Korea.
During the opening of the "K‑Pop Meets Korean Traditional Music" exhibition—part of the 2025 Touring K‑Arts Programme—at the Korean Cultural Centre in Abuja, Director Jeon Ju Ho announced that the Korean government is actively pursuing music collaborations between Nigerian and Korean artists. Though such cross-cultural projects haven’t yet been fully launched, they are now on the agenda.
Key points:
The centre plans to introduce Korean traditional music (instruments and symbols) into Nigerian Afrobeats, and equally aims to introduce Nigerian traditional music in Korea.
K‑Pop incorporates traditional Korean elements—like traditional masks and drum performances—and building on this, they see a natural opportunity to fuse it with Afrobeats, which has also gained worldwide popularity.
A notable first crossover was by Korean artist Paradice collaborating with Nigerian singer Bima on “Go Go Go”, which garnered 11 million YouTube likes in just one week. There are also cultural exchanges such as Jang (Korean drum) lessons by Nigerian drummers.
leadership.ng
While no formal budget is yet allocated, KCCN offers its network and facilitation to connect Nigerian and Korean artists with relevant cultural institutions.