The Indonesian tribe that adopted Hangeul as its writing system will send a delegation to Seoul next month to expand cultural exchanges, city officials said.

About ten people from the Cia-Cia tribe in Bau-Bau City, located on Buton Island in Southeast Sulawesi, are scheduled to visit the capital from Dec. 20-26.

Among them are Bau-Bau Mayor Amirul Tamim, tribal representatives, teachers and students. The exact number of the delegates and their schedule are still under discussion.

The Hunminjeongeum Society, a group of Korean linguists studying Hangeul and other writing systems, will sign an agreement with the delegation on the establishment of the Korea Center.

The center, which is expected to open next spring on the island, will teach Hangeul and Korean to local people and document the Cia-Cia`s culture, history and folktales.



"Since the nucleus of our culture - Hangeul - has entered the city, the cultural and personal exchanges will continue to enhance our abilities to understand each other," said Kim Ju-won, HS chairman and professor in the department of linguistics at Seoul National University. "Such exchanges will help Hangeul take root in the region."

Seoul City also plans to sign an agreement on increasing exchanges in areas of culture and arts with Bau-Bau City.

The delegation is expected to visit tourist attractions in Seoul, including Gwanghwamun Square where an exhibition hall showcasing achievements of King Sejong, an inventor of the Korean alphabet, is located.

In September, the Bau-Bau mayor told local media that through expanding cultural exchanges, including establishing a sisterhood relationship with a Korean city, the city wants to learn Korea`s development experience.

The Cia-Cia people, whose population is at about 80,000, is a minority group on Buton Island. Bau-Bau City is the largest administrative city on the Island in which some 60,000 Cia-Cia people reside.

(sshluck@heraldm.com)



By Song Sang-ho