KUWAIT CITY ― Sheikha Alanoud Al-Sabah has been a fan of the Korean Wave since her first contact with its music and soap operas a few years ago.

Mesmerized by the exotic culture, from fashion to history, the 28-year-old member of the Kuwaiti royal family is now playing a key role in promoting it through a monthly event hosted by the Korean Embassy.

“We are exposed to Korean culture, drama and music. The embassy helped promote Korean movies, which was great. I personally like historic Korean dramas and hanbok (traditional Korean dress)’s design,” Al-Sabah told The Korea Herald.

She was participating in the Korean Culture Diwaniya, a monthly gathering in which Koreans and Kuwaitis mingle to discuss and appreciate each other’s culture including music, food, clothing, craftwork, calligraphy and literature.

Diwaniya traditionally refers to the reception area in Kuwaiti homes. It now also means gathering to exchange views in politics, socialize and do business, she explained.

As in many parts of the world, the craze for Korean pop culture is fast growing in this faraway, unlikely place. 

Groups of fans of Psy, Big Bang, Girls’ Generation and Super Junior are springing up. More and more youngsters travel to Seoul, study its language online and cook bulgogi at home.

To cater to a growing demand to understand and experience Korea’s culture, the Korean Embassy embarked on the event in February with the help from Al-Sabah, the daughter of the governor of Al Ahmadi, an oil-rich suburb of the Gulf country’s capital.

“It first started as a small get-together between Al-Sabah and me, backed by some 20 Korean language students at Kuwait University,” said Kim Eun-jeong, the embassy’s councilor and its organizer.

The number of attendees has shot up from about 25 in February to 150 in September. Kuwaiti women in their 20s and 30s made up most of the participants, with others from countries such as Iran, Syria and Lebanon, Kim said.

More than 360 members share reviews of monthly sessions, photos and other Korea-related information on the diwaniya’s Facebook page.

“After the diwaniyas began, it was in fact extremely difficult to fulfill exploding demand from Kuwaitis to experience Korean culture with limited manpower and resources at our small office,” said Kim.

After three rounds, the embassy hosted “Korean Week” on May 8-11, including a K-pop contest, hanbok fashion show, demonstration of a traditional Korean wedding, charity bazaar and other events. Nearly 1,200 people came and 40 Kuwaiti diwaniya members volunteered.

With the scale expanding, Kim sought assistance from Korean homemakers living there and students who came to the country to learn Arabic.

“The Korean participants, who barely had a chance to come into contact with Kuwaiti culture despite living there for a long time, told me that the diwaniya created a link between their own community and the host nation. For the students, it was a crucial medium to learn the local language and make personal connections,” she noted.

The Korean government has been stressing “soft power” to help boost the country’s clout and reputation overseas, directing diplomats in greater outreach efforts at home and abroad. The diwaniya could provide a good example of public diplomacy, other officials and participants say.

“An embassy would only be seen as an administrative organization if it doesn’t act based on the way of local thinking in its host country,” Kim said.

“I think the key to success of the diwaniya was our embassy’s efforts to be open to Kuwaitis, engage them, make them the hosts and communicate with them on Facebook. Despite labor or budget constraints, I believe such an approach will help establish a steppingstone to successful public diplomacy.”

By Shin Hyon-hee, Korea Herald correspondent
(heeshin@heraldcorp.com)