By Noimot Olayiwola/Staff Reporter

A Korean cultural centre, which was conceived to popularise the hidden values of the country’s culture among communities in Qatar, was officially opened in Doha yesterday.
The non-governmental Sarang Plus is being run by Korea Culture and Islamic Studies senior researcher Jaehoon Hong, who wants to help young people from both Qatar and Korea achieve their dreams of becoming popular artistes.
“My plan is to help young people, who have dreams and ambitions of growing up to be either a singer or a dancer, especially with the worldwide popularity of Korean pop culture nowadays,” Hong, who was also a lecturer of International Relations Studies said.
He said not many people in Korea are aware of the Arab culture, likewise not many Arabs are exposed to the way of life of the Koreans.
“When I was in Iraq in 2003 during the rebuilding efforts after the war, I realised that the Korean international study was full of many Westernised views. A lot of our people had very little knowledge of Islam, the Middle East and the entire Arab world… most of their knowledge about the Arabs was limited to Al Qaeda, until I initiated some research in the Korea Islamic Institute, introducing some Middle Eastern elements into the studies in order to produce a better understanding of Islam and the Arab world among the students,” he said.
Hong recalled that the study found that there were “many Muslims and Arabs who are very nice” thus helping break the bias against the region among the Koreans.
“I also realised that Korea and Qatar as well as other Arab nations have some similarities in their culture, which is also a driving force for establishing the centre.”
He said he plans to bring in teachers from Korea as the centre will begin in September a number of classes such as Korean cooking, Korean language classes, taekwondo, vocal classes, guitar and danso (traditional flute class).
Fees for cooking class will be QR100, while the language class will start from QR500-QR10,000 (for private and small group tutoring).
Hong’s wife Jiwon An, who has over 10 years experience as a singer, will also teach Korean music at the centre.
Healso plans to hold a big vocalist contest in Qatar in the next two years to encourage students in their training.
During the opening of the centre yesterday, a group of 11 students from various universities in Korea, who are on an 11-day visit in Qatar, performed traditional items such as dances, miming, quiz, jung ga (vocal song), fan performance. There was also taekwondo demonstration by two Arab children.
“The students came here to get some exposure to the Qatari culture and they are enjoying their stay, especially while meeting their Qatari and Arab counterparts,” Hong said.
According to him, there are plans to organise visits of Korean students to Qatar, at least twice a year, during winter and summer holidays, in order to continue the trend of showcasing the Qatari and Korean culture among them.
“Through the centre, I hope to give some vision to Korean students by challenging them to go wherever they may choose in the world and establish themselves,” he said.
However, Hong, who is personally funding the centre, hoped to receive sponsorship support from well-meaning Korean and Qatari companies as well as the Qatari government for its future activities.