By Korea.net Honorary Reporters Dina Khaled and Sara Khaled from Egypt
Photos = Dina Khaled and Sara Khaled

On June 26 and 28, a "Korean caravan" was held in two cities in Egypt, Ismailia and Port Said. The event was organized by the Korean Embassy in Egypt, the Korean Cultural Center in Egypt, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the Korean Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and Ain Shams University. It was an event that contained lots of activities that have a relation to Korean arts, food, music, movies and sports.

The Korean ambassador in Egypt and his spouse attended the event in both cities, along with the governors of both cities, Port Said and Ismailia. The event featured a professional taekwondo team made up of Egyptians studying taekwondo. Taekwondo is a martial arts characterized by its emphasis on head-height kicks, jumping and spinning kicks, and fast kicking techniques.

After the taekwondo demonstration ended, a Korean cooking demonstration took place that was made by the chef of the Korean ambassador in Egypt, who came especially to show people how to make gimbap rice rolls. Rice rolls are a Korean dish made from cooked rice and other ingredients that are rolled in dried sheets of laver seaweed and served in bite-sized slices. People had the chance to try various Korean foods, too, like gimbap rice rolls and kimchi fermented and spicy cabbage.

Moreover, the event had a traditional Hanbok clothing booth where guests got to know more about traditional Korean clothes, and could even try them on and pose for a picture, too. Hanbok clothing is characterized by its vibrant colors and simple lines without pockets. Hanbok usually refers specifically to articles of clothing from Joseon times (1392-1910), and is still worn today during on traditional festivals and during certain celebrations.



Furthermore, there was an exhibition about Korean heritage and traditions that featured a collection of paintings, some musical instruments and mockups of famous Korean dishes that looked very real. There were also paintings of Korean calligraphy. People were astonished by how Korean calligraphy was so beautiful, as lots of people took pictures of these paintings and asked about them. Also, there were traditional Korean musical instruments to teach people about traditional Joseon music.

The exhibit introduced visitors to some traditional folk games, too, like the tuho arrow-throwing game (투호) and the yunnori board game (윷놀이). Tuho is a traditional East Asian folk game that requires players to throw sticks or arrows from a set distance into a large quiver to get points. They allowed the visitors to try to play these games and to compete together for precious prizes, and those prizes made lots of people interested to try those games.

Also there was a gallery made by KOICA that featured beautiful portraits and pictures. KOICA is a government agency concerned with the provision of overseas aid. It is also responsible for the official development assistance from the Korean government. In addition, KOICA Egypt is the first office to be established in the Middle East or North Africa.



Furthermore, there was a Korean products show and business meetings organized by KOTRA. They posted a catalogue of some of the Korean companies in the presence of representatives from KOTRA to explain more about Korea-made products.

The event also featured a Korean movie called "200 Pounds Beauty" (2006, 미녀는 괴로워). The movie is about a large woman who possesses an unbelievable voice. The woman wants to become a pop singer, but due to her obesity, she can only work as a faceless cover singer. She provides the vocals for popular singers, but after lots of trauma, she disappears for one year and then returns as a really beautiful woman with a slim figure. People really enjoyed the show, as there were lots of people who hadn't seen any Korean movie before.

It was a great thing that the event was held in those two cities to help promote Korean traditions and pop culture in new cities in Egypt, and to teach people about it. Also, there were lots of guests that loved the Korean movie and had lots of fun because of the activities that were held there.

wisdom117@korea.kr

* This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.