Paris University Students Visit Seocho-gu for K-Culture and Hangul Experience

Six university students from Seocho's sister city, Paris 15th district, will stay in Seocho from October 9 to 15 for 'Seocho Study' participation & Seocho Yangjaecheon Cheoncheon Tour, Sorae Village visit, Gyeongbokgung Palace tour, Hangul classes, and various Korean cultural experiences.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Paris, France is coming to experience Korean culture (K-Culture) and the charm of the cultural city Seocho.

"I listened to K-pop, ate bulgogi, studied Hangul, and completely fell for the charm of K-Culture in Paris. I'm so excited to finally visit the street from Gangnam Style that I can't sleep these days."

- # Seocho Study participant, Lucas Emma, a university student from Paris 15th district

Seocho-gu (Mayor Jeon Seong-su) announced that from October 9 to 15, on Hangul Day, they will invite university students from the friendly city Paris 15th district to Seocho to promote K-Culture and introduce Korea and Seocho-gu through the ‘Seocho Study Tour’.

Since 2019, the ‘Seocho Study’ has been a cultural exchange program between the two cities. In 2019, students went from Paris to Seocho, in 2020 from Seocho to Paris, and this year, university students were dispatched again from Paris 15th district to Seocho-gu.

This year’s ‘Seocho Study’ consists of six MZ generation university students from Paris 15th district who are very interested in Hallyu. They participate in various cultural programs to experience Korean youth and history. The district starts with eco-friendly programs such as the ‘Yangjaecheon Cheoncheon Tour,’ which won the Silver Award at the 2020 European Green Apple Awards, and visits ‘Seorae Village,’ known as Korea’s little France. They will also visit Korean landmarks like Gyeongbokgung Palace and Namsan Tower to experience Korean culture. Additionally, on October 9, Hangul Day, Korean conversation classes will be held to introduce the excellence of Hangul to them.

On the last evening, there will be a meeting time between Seocho-gu and Paris 15th district university students touring the youthful street ‘Gangnam Station,’ famous overseas for singer Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style.’ A district official said, “This will be a meaningful opportunity to share the culture of the MZ generation while receiving the youthful energy of Korea at the country’s top youth street.”

Baptiste Gardin (24), a university student from Paris 15th district who participated in the 2019 ‘Seocho Study,’ said, “I still vividly remember the time I visited Korea three years ago and experienced Korean food and hanbok. Since then, I have been studying Korean diligently by taking Korean classes, and I want to visit the Seocho Arts Center again to perform traditional Korean music in Korean.”

Meanwhile, the district has maintained various public diplomacy efforts since establishing a friendly cooperation with Paris 15th district in 2016. These include ▲ the creation of a park in Seorae Village by Paris 15th district in 2016 ▲ a friendship commemorative tree planting in the park in Seorae Village in 2019 ▲ support for shared video calls and antibacterial film stickers during COVID-19 in 2020 ▲ and participation every year since 2017 in Paris 15th district’s representative festival, the ‘Korean Expo,’ strengthening the close friendship between the two cities.

In particular, the district not only dispatched the fusion traditional Korean music performance group ‘Rock Dream’ to the ‘Korean Expo’ held on the 1st and 2nd of this month but also promoted Seocho-gu and Korea widely by introducing a Seocho-gu promotional video at the event.

Jeon Seong-su, Mayor of Seocho-gu, said, “I hope this ‘Seocho Study’ program will become a valuable memory for university students from Paris 15th district through diverse and fun Korean cultural experiences.”