The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on March 13 said the annual meeting of Korean Cultural Center directors and cultural promotion officials will run from March 14-17 at the KOCIS (Korean Culture and Information Service) Center in Seoul's Jung-gu District. (KOCIS)
By Aisylu Akhmetzianova
The directors of Korean Cultural Centers (KCCs) worldwide will gather in Seoul this week for their annual meeting.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on March 13 said this year's conference of KCC directors and cultural promotion officials will run from March 14-17 at the KOCIS (Korean Culture and Information Service) Center in Seoul's Jung-gu District.
The event will attract 33 people: 28 KCC directors who promote Korean culture in 29 countries and five cultural promotion officials.
A workshop on March 14 chaired by Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo Gyoon will feature benchmarks in the promotion of Korea, on-site interactive events and the direction of the government's promotional efforts. Education related to international affairs and the direction of diplomatic policy is also scheduled.
Two exemplary cases of cultural promotion are the KCC in Belgium's project of international brand marketing of Korean classics and that in South Africa's collaborative performance by disabled artists to mark the 30th anniversary of bilateral relations.
A Korean cultural promotional office in Singapore also plans to present the case study of promoting Korea through an exhibition of Hanji (traditional paper) at the island nation's largest festival.
A discussion from March 15-16 will see culture-related agencies discuss support for the export of the nation's culture, content and tourism.
A conference is also slated with 22 agencies related to culture and arts, content, tourism and sports like the Arts Council Korea, Korea Creative Content Agency, Korea Tourism Organization, Visit Korea Committee and Taekwondo Promotion Foundation.
KOCIS Director Kim Jangho said, "The Republic of Korea is seeing the opening of an era of cultural prosperity," adding, "Based on the diverse opinions coming from this event, we will support directors of KCCs abroad and cultural promotion officials to boost their role as national 'sales representatives' who promote Korean culture, content and tourism to the entire world."
Founded in 1979 with two branches in Tokyo and New York, KCCs are Korea's frontline institutions abroad that promote and export Korean culture worldwide. KOCIS runs KCCs in 33 cities of 28 countries and plans to open two more this year in Austria and Sweden.
aisylu@korea.kr
