A state think tank in South Korea said Thursday it has recently published an Arabic language edition of its English book on Korean culture to help enhance the Arabic world’s understanding of Korea.

The 2010 English book “Cultural Landscapes of Korea,” written and published by The Academy of Korean Studies, gives foreign readers clear information, including photos, on Korea’s culture, rituals, industrialization, urbanization and its different regional culture. The academy is a research institute in the southern suburbs of Seoul.

“Arabic, one of the six official languages of the United Nations, is the mother tongue of about 22 countries in North Africa and the Middle East. An estimated 300 million people use the language,” the institute said in a release. “But the level of understanding on Korea in the Arabic world is low,” it said.

The new book will be widely distributed to embassies of Arabic countries, major universities, academic organizations and textbook publishers all around the world as part of an effort to promote a better understanding of Korea, the institute said. Individuals can get the book for free if they apply through the Web site of the research institute (http://www.ikorea.ac.kr). (Yonhap News)