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‘Hallyu’ to highlight Korea-Indonesia ties in March

To mark 40 years of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Indonesia, the Korean Embassy in Jakarta is planning a series of events, including a concert featuring some of the most popular singers of the hallyu, or Korean wave

Andreas D. Arditya (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, January 5, 2013

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‘Hallyu’ to highlight Korea-Indonesia ties in March

T

o mark 40 years of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Indonesia, the Korean Embassy in Jakarta is planning a series of events, including a concert featuring some of the most popular singers of the hallyu, or Korean wave.

Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Kim Young-sun said on Friday that the concert, to be held in March, would be the culmination of a host of anniversary celebration events to be held in the coming months.

“This year has been proclaimed as a year of friendship between South Korea and Indonesia,” the ambassador said at City Hall after meeting Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. “Everyone is invited to celebrate.”

Kim Hyun-ki, the director of the Korean Cultural Center in Jakarta, said that most of the events had yet to be arranged. Only a reception on March 8 and the Music Bank concert on March 9 have been confirmed, according to Kim.

The Music Bank event will feature several K-pop artists at concert that is expected to attract well over 40,000 fans to Jakarta.

The line-up for the event currently includes boyband Super Junior, Shinee, Beast, 2PM, Infinite and Teentop, girlband Sistar and singer Eru.

According to the concert’s organizer, fans can expect dancing and singing collaborations among the artists, who are also expected to share the spotlight with several top Indonesian acts.

The Music Bank takes its name from a popular music television program produced by the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS). The program is recorded live and regularly broadcast to 73 countries through the KBS World Channel.

The weekly entertainment show has been a driving force behind the Korean wave, which has swept through Asia and beyond, including markets in the US and Europe, among other places.

The Korean wave, which first began to pick up speed in the 1990s, has become part of South Korea’s soft diplomatic efforts, which can be seen in the involvement of several hallyu stars, including those undertaking mandatory military service, in promoting the country’s entertainment industry and national brand.

Ambassador Kim that the Korean government would also take part in the events for Jakarta’s anniversary in June.

“The friendship celebration events will continue into the celebration of Jakarta anniversary. We will cooperate with the city administration to set up activities together.”

“These activities will represent the close ties between Indonesia and Korea and between Jakarta and Seoul,” he said.

South Korea and Indonesia established diplomatic relations in September 1973, and have enjoyed close cooperation since in trade, investment, infrastructure and defense.

Indonesia has deemed South Korea as an important partner in the nation’s economic development.

Bilateral trade with South Korea topped US$31 billion in 2011, and there are plans to boost that figure to $40 billion by 2014 and to $100 billion by 2020.

Meanwhile, South Korean investment in 2011 was $1.3 billion, four times the figure in 2010.

Separately, Jokowi said that cooperation between administrations of Jakarta and Seoul would continue to intensify in the future.

“Besides routine cooperation, like student exchanges, we have also discussed a number of possible areas of cooperation for both administrations,” the governor said.

“We’ve been talking about cooperation in building transportation infrastructure, especially a railway in the suburbs of Jakarta. I also intend to adopt the spatial planning schemes of Seoul. I’ve been impressed by it,” Jokowi said.

The Jakarta administration has begun preparation for a project to restore a part of the city’s Ciliwung River, aimed to start in April, with the help from the Korean government.

The project will be part of a restoration project for 13 rivers agreed to in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the Indonesian and Korean governments last month.

The Korean government will disburse $9 million in grants to finance a pilot project for the Ciliwung River, while Indonesia will contribute around Rp 10 billion (US$1.03 million). (nad)

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