By Honorary Reporter Maiya Li from Kazakhstan

Photos= Maiya Li

Last year, I was invited to the Christmas and New Year's party of an organization of young leaders from Central Asia who had come all the way to Seoul. This year, they plan to hold another festive event for those interested in Central Asian culture. 

The following are excerpts from an interview with members of the Central Asian Supporters Association (CASA).

Why was CASA founded?
Dias from Kazakhstan: The two main purposes for establishing CASA are making a platform for our Central Asian compatriots in Korea and presenting the rich and diverse culture of our region to our foreign friends.

What motivated you to start this project? Please share any funny stories you might have.
Mansur from Uzbekistan: Well, I have a sad rather than a funny story. When I got acquainted with foreigners in Korea, most knew nothing about Uzbekistan; they just said, "Ah, a 'stan' country." Then I realized that the problem was common to all Central Asian countries and since we have same roots from long ago, can understand each other's languages, share similar cuisines and so on, we decided to form an organization to help our foreign friends better understand our culture.

What is your motto and plans? What inspires you?

Zhanar from Kazakhstan: Frankly, we didn't know what to expect at CASA's first event. Our goal was to enjoy the event ourselves and make it fun for the 30-40 friends of ours who came to support us. Unexpectedly for us, our guests liked the event more than we thought. And so, we understood Central Asians in Korea needed a networking platform. The best inspiration for us is people's gratitude and their sincere joy shown after the event.

What challenges have you faced since CASA's foundation?
Makhfuza from Uzbekistan: Things have gotten easier with every event because we understand our guests' preferences better. I consider our very first event as our biggest challenge because at the time, we had no place available and had to hold the event on the rooftop of one of Seoul's best Uzbek cafes. It hadn't been used for parties before, so we had to prepare it ourselves.

Do you think Koreans view Central Asian countries in a positive or negative way?
Sardor from Uzbekistan: Their attitudes are definitely positive but the point is that sometimes our Korean friends find it hard to differentiate Central Asian countries because of our ethnic similarities. But we're proud to say more than 300 of our foreign friends know the difference between musical instruments in Central Asia, for example, the Kazakh dombra and the Kyrgyz komuz.

How would you get Koreans to engage more with the Central Asian community? 

Olia from Turkmenistan: That's what we're doing now. We organize small and big events in which people get to know each other and make new friends. We have Korean friends who initially weren't interested in Central Asian culture, but after watching promo videos and performances, trying our food and feeling the warmth of the people, they plan to visit some of our countries.

What is the most important things our readers should know about CASA's intent?
Bubu from Kyrgyzstan: People are always interested in something new and unusual. Our culture is so different from Korean, and this is why we like Korean culture in the first place and study and/or work here. Our new Korean friends would have exactly the same exotic interest if they attend our events and experience authentic Central Asian culture.

Any hints on how CASA plans to celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve this month?
Mukhammad from Uzbekistan: As we mentioned before, we gather and analyze after every event what went right and what could be improved. We've organized more than 40 events so far, thus we understand our guests' preferences much better than before. So I can say the next event will be something our guests will never forget.

With the end of the year and the start of 2020 approaching, what do you wish for our readers?
Khusniddin from Uzbekistan: December is a month full of miracles and sweet hopes. Allow yourself to dream big. Work hard to make all of your dreams come true. We wish you only two things in the new year: strong health and to find out the second, come to our new year's party.

For more information on CASA and its events, check out its official Instagram account @casainkorea.

chaey0726@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.