Every year in Brussels, young people dance in the street singing K-pop. It is the end-of-year show of the K-pop Academy. This program, which does not exist in France, is organized by the Korean Cultural Center in Belgium. In this center of Europe, how is the Korean Cultural Center positioned to promote the culture of the Land of the Morning Calm? To interview the director of the Korean Cultural Center in Belgium, I took the train from Paris to Brussels.
Let me briefly introduce Belgium. This country is surrounded by France, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. Its capital is Brussels, its surface area is one-third of that of Korea, and its population is 20% of that of South Korea. However, this small country has three official languages: French, Dutch, and German spoken by 1% of the Belgian population. Finally, to communicate with compatriots, you have to know how to speak English.
In addition, six headquarters of international organizations are located there: the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Western European Union, the Benelux Union, the World Customs Organization, and the Coimbra Group. Moreover, in Brussels, there are more than 20,000 civil servants from the 28 countries of the European Union and more than 180 embassies! The diplomat is not a rare profession here.
K-pop
The K-pop Academy was established in 2024, two years after the Cultural Center was established. There are about 100 students in two categories: vocal and dance. Teachers are selected in South Korea through a competition organized by the Korean Culture and Information Service. The latter is an organization attached to the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Korea.
The problem is the language for communication. Given the three official languages of Belgium plus English, the program is conducted in two languages by a Korean student who speaks French and English.
What do you think the price is? Don’t be surprised. It’s free! That’s not all. The exhibitions and shows inside the Cultural Center are all free! Because if a foreign government agency generates profit, it can cause a problem between the two countries.
Korean lessons
Sejong Hakdang is a school for teaching Korean in the Korean Cultural Center. At first, it was free including the textbook. However as the attendance rate was too low, the Cultural Center changed the pricing: to 150€ for one year, and the book has been the personal responsibility of the students since this year. Moreover, all the money it receives belongs to the Korean State.
There are 10 classes and 220 students in Sejong Hankdang. The demand increases every year. Quite a few students in the singing class at K-pop Academy have studied Korean on their own to translate the lyrics of Korean songs.
Korean Cultural Center Program
Besides the Korean language course in the annual program of the Cultural Center, there is also calligraphy, the art of creating Korean paper Hanji, Janggu (a traditional Korean percussion), Taekwondo (a traditional Korean martial art), and Korean cuisine. Teenagers and young adults tend to enroll in popular culture programs. Thirty- and forty-somethings prefer workshops on traditional culture or classical music.
The K-pop Academy is only open during the summer school holidays. Dance classes are held outside the Center because of the equipment needed such as a large mirror or the special dance floor.
Are the programs of the Korean Cultural Center around the world the same? No. Given the limitations of the budget and personnel provided by South Korea and the diversity of local people’s tastes, the Korean government has decided to vary the programs of the Cultural Centers around the world by adapting to the local culture. The government cooperates or supports the specific projects or unique programs of each Cultural Center.
Comics and Manhwa
For example, Belgium is the birthplace of the Smurfs and Tintin . As it is the country of comics and the first comic stip museum in Europe, the Korean Cultural Center in Belgium organizes a comic strip exhibition every year in partnership with the Belgian Comic Strip Museum in Brussels. This year, under the theme of ” Inner Look “, the authors of Korean Manhwa and Belgian comics presented their views on themselves through their artistic tools.
The role of the Cultural Center is to connect the Manhwa Museum, Manwha associations in South Korea, and comic book experts in Belgium and bring them together in its space. Around the common interest of Manwha, Korean and Belgian professionals and curators meet, exchange ideas and choose the theme, participants and any other process,s together. Thus, introducing cultu,ral exchange between two countries is the mission of the Cultural Center, according to the director CHOI Young-jin .
Reciprocal exchange
Some people claim, “Why does the Korean Cultural Center funded by the Korean government exhibit and present foreign authors?” Ms. Choi responds:
Indeed, fans and connoisseurs of Belgian authors came to the exhibition and discovered Korean cartoonists and Korean culture. Last year, the communication between participants from both countries continued. The Manhwa Museum invited Belgian authors to Bucheon (link), South Korea. Thus, establishing a reciprocal exchange and broadening the audience is the important mission of the Korean Cultural Center in Belgium according to Ms. Choi.
Together
The Cultural Center organizes exhibitions not only of comics, architecture, and photography but also shows. Thanks to the Queen Elisabeth Competition, which is one of the three top classical music competitions, many quality classical music artists stay there. In partnership with this competition, the Korean Cultural Center invites the Korean finalists of the competition and organizes gala concerts with European or Belgian musicians.
Is it because of Japan’s jealousy over the success of the Korean Cultural Center that the Japanese Cultural Center in Belgium, which was closed due to the widespread Japanese culture, recently reopened?
K-drama
Here’s Ms. Choi’s answer to the question of whether foreigners consider K-pop or K-drama to be part of Korean culture in its own right.
Korean adoptees
France, where I live, has the largest number of Korean adoptees after the United States. Some of them learn Korean to rediscover their forgotten mother tongue or to communicate with their biological parents. Among the Korean adoptees in France, Fleur Pellerin and Jean-Vincent Placé, both politicians are well-known in South Korea. I was curious to know the situation of Korean adoptees in Belgium.
According to Ms. Choi, they are much more numerous than Korean residents in Belgium. The latter, including students, number about 1,000, while permanent Korean residents number about 400. On the other hand, Korean adoptees number 5,000. Some learn Korean at the Cultural Center, but most leave after silently attending exhibitions or shows.
Among the Korean adoptees in Belgium, Jung, the director of the film ” Skin Color: Honey “, and Sang Hoon Degeimbre are very well known. The latter prepared the official dinner for the Korean guests during the visit of the South Korean head of state. You can enjoy his cuisine at the restaurant ” l’air du temps “.