Neighbors keen to deepen cultural ties

Kim Junbum's interest in Chinese culture started when his grandfather brought him a set of commemorative coins from the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

"It was very beautiful, which triggered my wish to learn more about China," Kim, 29, from Seoul, said.

A few years later, Kim attended college in Beijing and then founded Korean Peninsula Technology Co to introduce Chinese culture and China's fast-developing technology market to people in South Korea. "I'm fond of food and tourism," he said. "China has a diversity of ethnic cultures and every place has its own special dishes, so I have a lot to experience here."

China and South Korea are geographically close and have many historical connections, said Li Shaopeng, deputy director of the Chinese Cultural Center in Seoul. The center, established in 2004, aims to promote and display Chinese culture in South Korea and build a bridge for cultural exchanges between both countries.

China and South Korea launched the Year of Cultural Exchange last year to upgrade bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields by carrying out a series of colorful cultural activities, continuing into this year, which marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two.

Li said that Chinese culture has always been open, and has absorbed a lot from different cultures and excellent civilizations from other countries.

"No matter how the world changes, cultural exchanges between China and South Korea are always active, especially people-to-people exchanges. New stories are happening around us every day."

In April 2019 the center held a two-month event called Silk Road Culture Month. Through forms such as exhibitions, lectures, experiences and films it comprehensively presented many facets of Chinese culture such as ceramics, calligraphy, tea ceremony, incense ceremony and flower ceremony, promoting in-depth communication between Chinese and South Korean societies.

Bilingual services

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the center changed the way it communicates on cultural matters, doing a lot more online. For instance, an activity named Cloud Tour China last year displayed tourism resources of all parts of China. It has also presented online bilingual webpages and videos to introduce to South Koreans western China, an area that few of them visit, such as the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu province, and the pandas in Sichuan province.

"That activity has greatly increased South Koreans' understanding of China," he said. "A college graduate told us she learned about stories of the panda in Sichuan province from our website and had developed a close understanding of the world's largest panda habitat. … She hoped that the pandas will become a symbol of friendly exchanges between the two countries."

Li said that because of the pandemic and geopolitical influences, cultural exchanges between the two have been affected to some extent, but no matter how the international situation changes, China-South Korea relations will inevitably develop.

The youth of both countries are the most promising and dynamic groups and should serve as envoys of cultural exchanges between China and South Korea, he said.

South Koreans who live in China have good impressions of the country, Kim said. By contrast, the perceptions of some people in South Korea who get their information about China through media outlets are skewed as a result of Western media that portray China in a negative light.

So an important part of Kim's work is to make multimedia products about China and share them with overseas audiences through social media platforms.

"I think youths play an important part in cultural exchanges because we are very familiar with social media and video platforms, so we can tell more authentic stories about China and communicate with people worldwide."