A Lecture on " Korea and the Arab World: Historical Relationships and a Bright Future" at the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation
Thursday 27 October, 2011
On the occasion of the Korean Cultural Week, organized by the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation from October 24-27, 2011, the Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Cairo, Dr. Jaeyang Park; gave a lecture entitled " Korea and the Arab World: Historical Relationships and a Bright Future" on Tuesday, at the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation in Dubai. The lecture shed light on many details pertaining to the relationship between Korea and the Arab World, especially cultural relations. The Executive Director of the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation, Abdul Elah Abdul Qader, gave an introductory address prior to the lecture where he discussed the general lack of knowledge the Arabs have about South Korea, and the importance of studying the Korean cultural experience. Next, Dr. Jaeyang Park gave his lecture in the Arabic language, which he is fluent in, as he holds a Doctoral degree in Arabic from Al Azhar University in Cairo.
The details which Dr. Jaeyang shed light on during his lecture pertained to the historical relationships between Korea and the Arab World, which go back to the 9th century AD, at the time of the Shilla Dynasty. It is interesting to note that the Arabs were forerunners in regards to becoming acquainted with Korea, to the extent that they knew Korea several centuries before the West finally became acquainted with it.
An interesting piece of information mentioned by the lecturer was that the first map of Korea was created by famous Arab Scientist, Al Idrisi, who created a map of Korea that consisted of 5 islands. And it is said that this was the first map in the world portraying the Korean islands. The name "Korea" is actually attributed to Arab merchants and traders, who gave it this name in the 13th century. Moreover, Dr. Jaeyang pointed out that Arabs today know very little about Korean culture. "They mostly know that Korea is a country that exports technology, but they are not acquainted with its writers, literature, arts, or the interaction of the Korean people with various creative and aesthetic forms," he added. He considered that this knowledge gap should be filled, and said: "The economic relationships between Korea and the Arab world involve a significant amount of commercial exchange and trade, but economy alone cannot strengthen the ties between nations, for what truly solidifies and strengthens these ties are culture and knowledge."
Furthermore, Dr. Jaeyang saw that the recent years have witnessed numerous initiatives that aim to extend bridges of communication between the Arab world and Korea, such as the establishment of the Arab-Korean Association in 2008 under the name of "The Korean-Arab Society". He added that this society, which was established through the joint efforts of the Korean government and the governments of 22 Arab countries, aims to support cultural exchange between Korea and the Arab world through cooperation between the relevant institutions and cultural authorities. One of the projects adopted by the Korean Arab Society is the Arab Culture Festival, which aims to introduce Arab culture to the Korean people. Activities of this society also include inviting prominent Arab writers to visit Korea.
In conclusion, Dr. Jaeyang said that for both Koreans and Arabs, making more effort to understand the language of the other will definitely contribute to a better cultural interaction between the two nations. "Today, many Arab young people are interested in learning the Korean language, and on the other hand there are at least 5 Korean Universities that teach the Arabic language among its courses, and this interest has even extended to the earlier educational stages," he added.