Celebrating the 40th anniversary of their diplomatic relationship next year, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates agreed Tuesday to designate 2020 as the year of cultural dialogue to step up cultural exchanges.
South Korean Culture Minister Park Yang-woo and UAE Culture Minister Noura Al Kaabi signed a memorandum of understanding to set the “Korea-UAE Cultural Dialogue 2020” on Tuesday in Seoul’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.
The ministers agreed to facilitate mutual cultural progress in a range of sectors, including music, art, dance and culture, as they signed the MOU.
Under the agreement, South Korea will host a variety of cultural events in the Arab nation, such as a K-pop festival, a special Korean art exhibition and the publication of Korean poetry books, as well as traditional Korean music and dance performances, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Through the series of cultural events, Seoul will seek to disseminate Korean culture, as represented by “hallyu,” in the Middle East, the ministry said.
The UAE, on its part, is also planning corresponding cultural events in South Korea.
Having established the bilateral diplomatic relationship in 1980, the two countries have stepped up cooperation in energy, construction and other areas.
