Among the side programs running during the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, promotional booths organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Presidential Council for Nation Branding are noteworthy.

The Culture Ministry’s Korea Culture & Tourism booth is set up at the Media Center at COEX in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, from March 25-28, and offers summit participants and the general public a glimpse into Korea’s traditional and contemporary culture.

The nation’s representative relics, traditional craftworks and artworks are on display at the booth. The National Museum of Korea organized a virtual museum through which visitors can browse and learn about the exhibits. Video clips of 20 masterpieces from the museum and the looted Oegyujanggak Uigwe repatriated from France last year are being screened. 

At a section organized by Korea Tourism Organization, visitors can try on hanbok, the Korean traditional costume, enjoy K-pop music videos and even experience Korean acupuncture.

The Presidential Council for National Branding focuses on the roots of hallyu, or the Korean Wave. Its promotional booth runs from March 25-27 at the Media Center.

“The new hallyu, led by K-pop and K-drama, was not born in a day. We want to show that it is based on Koreans’ artistic DNA, creativity, passion and cooperative minds which are shown in Korean traditional culture and history,” said an official at the council.

The booth is decorated with wallpaper made of “hanji,” or Korean traditional paper, and exhibits the nation’s traditional “munbangsau,” or four friends in the study ― hanji, brush, ink and ink stone ― and jewelry used in royal weddings. A media artwork created in a form of an eight-fold screen will showcase how Korea’s traditional paintings are linked with the recent hallyu.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldcorp.com)