Throughout the world, South Korea is well-known in terms of trade and investment, but recently the small North Asian nation has become more popular for its culture.
Korean popular culture, known as “hallyu” or the Korean Wave, has been making inroads into several Asian, European and Latin American countries, including Indonesia.
Thousands of young Indonesians now want to learn Korean language, watch Korean movies and TV dramas and listen to Korean music known as K-Pop. The question, however, is where they can do all these things in Jakarta? The answer is newly established Korean Cultural Center, a Korean diplomat says.
“With the growing interaction between Korea and Indonesia in trade, investment and culture, our government has decided to open the Korean Cultural Center in Jakarta,” Korean Cultural Center director Kim Hyun-ki told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
“The official and grand opening of the center will be on July 15”.
Before the grand opening, however, the center has already begun offering Korean language courses.
“The response from Indonesians is amazing. We have already had around 130 students joining the three-month language course. All the teachers are native speakers,” Kim said.
When asked about other activities, Kim said the center had much to offer.
“Besides language courses, members can also borrow books, DVDs and CDs, free of charge. We will screen Korean movies twice a week. We also regularly organize exhibitions, concerts and seminars,” Kim said.
The center is located in the Equity Tower, SCBD, on Jl. Sudirman.
The rising interest in Korean culture and its spread to many parts of the world has raised eyebrows even among Koreans.
“The growing fame of young Korean singers, actors and actresses outside Korea is unprecedented. Recently, the tickets for a Korean music concert in Paris sold out in hours. Many people didn’t get the tickets. The fans organized a demonstration to demand another show,” ASEAN-Korea Center Secretary-General Ambassador Cho Young-jai told the Post in Seoul recently.
