By Xu Aiying and Yoon Hee Young
Video = Korea.net's official YouTube channel
The Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS), an affiliate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is holding various events to mark its 50th anniversary.
"Korea World," an exhibition held on Nov. 30 in an extended virtual space (metaverse), is a platform in which non-Korean fans of Korean culture can share Hallyu (Korean Wave) content that they made and communicate with one another.
This is the first time for KOCIS to set up an online exhibition platform in the metaverse to find new consumers for Hallyu amid the daily practice of non-contact life. The title "Korea World" expresses the agency's hope for the exhibition hall to become a space where Hallyu fans worldwide gather to enjoy Korean cultural content.
The exhibited content includes 140 winning works from nine categories in this year's "Talk Talk Korea," an international contest for Korean content; exemplary works by Korea.net's Honorary Reporters and K-influencers; and a memorial hall for KOCIS' 50th birthday.
Along with the exhibition, visitors can take photos and chat with one another using their avatars.
The exhibition is available on its website (koreaworld.co.kr) and that for KOCIS' 50th anniversary (www.kocis.go.kr/50th/special.html).
The agency on Dec. 1 will jointly host with the Korea Development Institute's School of Public Policy and Management "Global Forum for Culture and Youth 2021" at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul in the city's Gwangjin-gu District.
Young and innovative leaders invited from various sectors at the event will suggest new visions under the theme "Youth, Culture and Innovation for a Future-fit Society" and discuss strategies for sustainable community development.
The forum will begin with the keynote speech "Youth for Urban Democracy" by New York University professor Gianpaolo Baiocchi and discuss nine topics in three sessions.
KOCIS will also run commemorative projects including the publication of a "brand book" to be released on Dec. 10, an event on Dec. 15 to mark the opening of KOCIS Center and the 50th anniversary, and the K-healing ON Festival on Dec. 16.
The agency was founded on Dec. 31, 1971, as the Korean Overseas Information Service under the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism).
xuaiy@korea.kr
