“Africa is rising. Africa is booming,” Togolani Edriss Mavura, vice dean of the African Group of Ambassadors in Seoul and Tanzania’s ambassador to South Korea, said Friday at the Seoul Africa Festival.
The annual event, now in its ninth year, showcased African music, dance, fashion and visual arts, celebrating the continent’s cultural vitality and growing global influence.
Mavura said Africa’s vast natural resources — including graphite, nickel, lithium, cobalt and rare earth minerals — mean it is a key player in the global supply chain.
“It’s an eye-opener that Africa is no longer a dark continent as it was once portrayed in global media — as conflicted, impoverished and famine-stricken,” he said.
He noted that advances in technology are creating new opportunities for Korea to participate in African value chains and diversify its raw material sources. “Africa today represents growth, innovation, investment and rising prosperity,” he said.
Mavura urged Korean companies to seize the moment, pointing to Africa’s $3.4 trillion free trade area as a potential game-changer for bilateral commerce. “There is no better time for Korean companies to be in Africa than now,” he said.
Korea’s trade with Africa currently accounts for just 1.5 percent of its total trade volume.
Echoing these views, Choi Jin-young, CEO of Herald Media Group, said that the festival showcased the continent’s richness and diversity.
“The economic and cultural potential of Africa, along with converging areas, should be fully utilized,” Choi underlined.
Together with the AGA, the Herald Media Group has been advancing discussions on economic diplomacy through business forums, media coverage, and dialogues on research, startups, infrastructure, and trade, Choi added.
"It's time for South Korea to see Africa from economic and cultural diplomacy standpoints," said Choi.
Herald Media Group, parent company of The Korea Herald, has co-hosted Africa Day 2025 in Seoul since 2024 in joint partnership with the AGA, representing 19 African countries. The Korea-Africa Foundation has joined the partnership for the event this year, which was held under the theme “Building Bridges, Creating Opportunities.”
In an interaction with The Korea Herald after the event, Hassan Abazzar, charge d’affaires at the Moroccan Embassy, said this year’s Seoul Africa Festival “brilliantly highlighted the rich diversity of African cultures, offering an immersive glimpse into the continent’s music, fashion, and cuisine.”
“The event further encouraged Koreans with an interest in Africa to embrace a renewed vision founded on win–win partnerships and collaborative investments, thereby contributing to the continent’s sustainable and genuine development,” Abazzar told The Korea Herald.
“I feel that this festival is not just about Africa but about diversity in Korea. Africa’s modern culture, wine, food, and artwork made this event feel like Africa. This is not easy to see in Seoul,” said a female foreign resident.
The festival was attended by more than 200 people related to Africa, members of the diplomatic corps, foreign ministry officials, African diaspora, academia, cultural and arts organizations, businesses, civil society representatives and the media.
sanjaykumar@heraldcorp.com
