Korean Film and Tourism Festival 2021 held in Dhaka

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea organised a three-day film and tourism festival at Bangladesh National Museum last month, which encompassed the screening of five movies — including the global sensation, Parasite — and a number of interactive games and activities.

With K-pop, K-drama, web series, etc., the Korean entertainment industry has taken the whole world by storm, and the huge crowds this festival attracted was a testament to that.

During the opening ceremony, LEE Jang-keun, the ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Bangladesh, spoke of this popularity in his speech, mentioning not only the Oscar-winning film, Parasite but also the monumental success enjoyed by Squid Game and Hellbound.

In fact, Parasite won a number of awards in the Oscars held in 2020 and became the first non-English language film to win in the 'Best Picture' category, hence making history! 

All this success did not come overnight. As the Asian cinema expert Dr Zakir Hossain Raju — professor and head of the Department of Media and Communication in Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) — said in his speech, the South Korean government has made a conscious effort and planned how the country could best be promoted to the world, placing immense importance on films and the overall culture industry at large in order to achieve that. 

K M Khalid, the state minister for cultural affairs, attended the opening ceremony as the chief guest.

Alongside the films, the festival also featured dalgona candy, traditional folk games, and virtual reality tours. And the opening ceremony also presented the audience with K-pop performances, by the group Rebels' Groove.

In an interview with Star Lifestyle, the ambassador said that the festival had aimed to give a rather holistic experience to the visitors, not just with a diverse selection of movies but also with the various interactive activities such as the VR tours and folk games. "It is not just about particular places, but the overall experience of culture that tourism should provide, and we tried to bring that to an extent to the visitors with the films and the activities," he said.

And the Korea-experience is indeed very unique. It is a country everyone should have on their bucket list or travel plan.

The ambassador opined, "The very uniqueness of Korea is what that makes it a unique tourist destination. There are many beautiful and historical places in the world, as there are in Korea. But what makes Korea truly different? It is the Korean uniqueness itself, and people have an interest in that —with K-pop, K-drama, the food — and they want to visit Korea and experience it. So, we urge people to come and see for themselves how and why Korea is so remarkably unique!" 

Photo: The Embassy of the Republic of Korea