By Honorary Reporter Glaiza Godinez from Philippines

Photos= Korean Cultural Center in the UAE's YouTube channel

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Yang-woo

The doors of the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are temporarily closed, but the center is active online for the sake of the Hallyu-loving community there.

Because of restrictions on movement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, certain businesses and establishments like the KCC in Abu Dhabi have been closed and events have been postponed.

"Nevertheless, we believe that we need to bring our emotional distance closer through various online programs to communicate with those in the UAE who love and care for Korean culture," KCC Director Nam Chan-woo said in an email interview.

Over the last few weeks, the KCC has offered educational programs including a free online course in Korean in real time, instruction in using jogakbo (traditional patchwork) to make masks and a class in Korean cooking.

Jogakbo (patchwork) kits

Online cooking class for samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup)

In collaboration with Cinema Space Abu Dhabi, the KCC also screened online the Korean movies "Okja" and "Along With The Gods: The Two Worlds."

To overcome COVID-19 together, the center started interactive challenges via its official Instagram account in activities like making dalgona (honeycomb toffee) coffee, doing calligraphy to express positive messages of hope during the pandemic, writing acrostic poems for the major Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr and cooking one's favorite Korean food. The Instagram challenge, which offers prizes like K-pop CDs autographed by the artists, will continue through summer.

During the holy month of Ramadan, the KCC shared Ramadan greetings from the idol groups IMFACT, D-Crunch, April, DONGKIZ, ASTRO and B.I.G, which excited their fans in the region. Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Yang-woo also sent his Eid greetings to the UAE.

In line with cultural dialogue between Korea and the UAE, the KCC is also planning a live online concert in June featuring the Korean acapella group MayTree.

Nam said, "MayTree will play its own acapella version of popular K-pop (songs) and those from soundtracks, as well as sharing a positive message of overcoming these challenging times together."

He also called Korea.net's new 24-hour YouTube channel and multichannel network launched on May 20 "a well-timed initiative to entertain, strengthen and promote cultural activities."

"All offline cultural activities have been stopped and online communication has been strengthened due to the pandemic. This trend is expected to continue for a while," he said. "The globalization of K-pop such through Psy's 'Gangnam Style' and BTS was also achieved through online platforms. We look forward to playing a role as a catalyst for the new Korean Wave."

"Because of high demand for Korean cultural content in Arab countries such as the UAE, I hope that not only the Korean Wave but also various aspects of traditional Korean culture are introduced to contribute to bilateral cultural exchange."

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.