Permanent venue brings ASEAN culture closer to local communities outside Seoul
JEONJU, North Jeolla Province — Cultural outreach with Southeast Asia in South Korea expanded outside its traditional centers in Seoul and Jeju Island on Thursday with the opening of a permanent venue in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province.
The ASEAN-Korea Center opened the Jeonju ASEAN Hall at the Korea Traditional Culture Center, the first such venue in the southwestern region and its third nationwide.
The opening ceremony was attended by more than 20 Southeast Asian diplomats who joined local residents and other Korean attendees. The new facility will host programs including exhibitions and cooking classes.
The venue opened with its inaugural exhibition, "ASEAN: Where Hands Bridge Time," gathering about 70 traditional objects from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' 11 member states, ranging from textiles and masks to musical instruments and shadow puppets.
Organizers described it as the first large exhibition in South Korea to assemble traditional cultural objects from all 11 ASEAN members in one place, with embassies and institutions contributing.
ASEAN-Korea Center Secretary-General Kim Jae-shin said Jeonju's cultural heritage and tourism made the city a meaningful location for the hall.
"The hall is particularly meaningful as it brings the ASEAN region closer to the people of Korea here in Jeonju, a city renowned for its rich cultural heritage, traditional arts and vibrant tourism," Kim said.
He said the venue was intended both for Korean visitors to encounter Southeast Asia's cultural diversity and for ASEAN communities in Korea to maintain connections with their home countries.
Jeonju Mayor Cho Ji-hoon compared cultural exchange to two overlapping circles, citing the documentary "Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble."
"When two cultures meet, something new emerges at that point of intersection," he said.
"In the same way, as the cultures of ASEAN come together here at our ASEAN Hall, we will see new creations emerge."
Giving people reasons to return
Monthly cooking classes will feature Southeast Asian dishes, including Vietnamese banh xeo and Indonesian nasi goreng, while another program will pair locally made baked goods with coffee from East Timor.
Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Bernadette Therese C. Fernandez placed the initiative in the wider context of Southeast Asian ties with South Korea, pointing to the upcoming ASEAN Summit in Manila in November, which she said President Lee Jae Myung would attend.
With the Philippines holding this year's ASEAN chair, Fernandez said Manila would seek "practical, inclusive and measurable initiatives for development," including greater attention to "the cultural dimension of the relationship."
South Korea has been seeking to deepen ties with the bloc under the ASEAN-ROK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Vision unveiled by Lee at last year's ASEAN-ROK Summit. Republic of Korea is the formal name for South Korea.
The opening also comes as North Jeolla Province seeks to raise its international profile alongside its bid to host the 2036 Summer Olympics.
For Jeonju, the hall adds an international dimension to a tourism landscape still closely associated with Korean traditional culture and its hanok village.
"ASEAN has created something very good here, and Jeonju has responded by providing this space," Jeonju resident Lim Yong-jin told The Korea Herald.
Lim pointed to what he described as historical exchanges between Korea and Southeast Asia dating to the Silla Kingdom (57 BC to AD 935).
"There was more interaction between us during the era of the old kingdoms than there is today," Lim said. "We should not forget that history."
sanjaykumar@heraldcorp.com
