The South Korean embassy in Doha will host a joint concert by countertenor David Dong Qyu Lee, pianist Sonya Park and Korean musicians of Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra on November 14 at Katara – the Cultural Village’s Opera House.
The event is part of further strengthening bilateral ties between South Korea and Qatar in various fields, including culture, education and tourism, ambassador Heung Kyeong Park has told Gulf Times.
“Dong is active in Germany now; he is one of the famous countertenors in our country,” Park explained.
In co-ordination with the Qatari cultural authorities, the embassy is also planning to invite popular artists from South Korea, particularly its peace map calligrapher, to visit and possibly hold exhibitions in Doha early next year.
“He has drawn the Qatari map with Korean letters. Also, we can show Arabic letters by using the oriental brush, which is quite impressive,” he added. “It will be a good opportunity to share our commonalities because calligraphy is very attractive
to both Koreans and Qataris.”
In February, South Korean media artist Lee Lee Nam exhibited his video artworks at Katara for a month. Last year, a group of Korean performers also showcased oriental and contemporary break dance at the same venue in October to mark the eighth Korea-Arab Friendship Caravan.
On the educational front, the envoy said a couple of Qatari students are studying in South Korea, together with 90,000 other foreign students.
As the bilateral memorandum of understanding on educational co-operation came into effect in November 2015, he noted that Korean educational experts participated in a conference held at the Qatar National Convention Centre in May.
Dubbed as “Leading Learning”, the conference included a workshop on ICT-based education.
The embassy also announced that a Korean lecturer would start teaching the Korean
language at Qatar University starting next month.
“We expect more exchange visits of educational experts and students, and further co-operation will take place,” said Park, who also cited the visit of HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser to South Korea during the World Education Forum.
The event saw the signing of an agreement to support 130,000 students in Afghanistan, Nepal, Myanmar, and Cambodia.
In tourism, Park said more than 1,000 Qataris visit South Korea for medical treatment, leisure and other purposes while many Korean travellers visit Qatar on their way to European countries via Qatar Airways, which flies daily between Doha and Incheon.
He expressed optimism that more Qataris and South Koreans would travel between the two destinations with the increase of mutual co-operation.
Qataris can visit South Korea and stay for three months without any visa, the ambassador added.
South Korean pianist Sonya Park. PICTURE: www.sonjapark.org Right: South Korean countertenor David Dong Qyu Lee. PICTURE: www.daviddqlee.com
