by On April 23, the Malawi branch of the African Council for the Democratic and Peaceful Unification Advisory Committee held a K-pop contest and soccer tournament for locals at Daeyang University & Daeyang Luke Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi.
This event was held for locals as part of public diplomacy for ‘Peace on the Korean Peninsula’. About 300 people filled the venue and those who could not enter because the entire platform was well-received and opened to the extent of watching from the window.
At the opening ceremony, the national anthem of the Republic of Korea was sung before the national anthem of Malawi, and it was touching to see the Korean compatriots singing along with their hearts full of excitement.
At the opening ceremony, congratulatory remarks were given by those who showed interest and support for this event. Chairman Lim Chang-soon of the African Council for Democracy and Peace, which hosted the event, introduced, “The African Council for Democracy and Peace is an organization that works for peace, stability, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.” We hope to open a forum for cooperation with K-Pop and take the lead in promoting K-Pop across Africa beyond Malawi.”
Ambassador Dobonggae of the Korean Embassy in Zimbabwe, who took great interest in this event, also said in a congratulatory video message, “The background of K-pop’s huge popularity around the world is that K-pop is based on Korea’s traditional ‘heung’ culture. I think it is because there is,” he said, encouraging the young people in Malawi to feel the ‘excitement’ of Korea through this contest.”
On behalf of Daeyang Luke Hospital and Daeyang University’s founder, Jung Yu-Geun, who provided the venue for the event, Hwang Ha-Su, vice president of Daeyang Luke Hospital, said, “We sincerely welcome the participants of the event, and through the first Korean cultural event held in Malawi, Malawi people can learn about Korea. I hope it will be an opportunity to get to know you better.”
About 20 locals participated in this K-pop contest. The first participant made a deep impression by singing Arirang loudly in Korean, although the pronunciation was poor. The audience cheered enthusiastically as to how unusual their appearance was, and Korean compatriots were able to taste the thrilling moment of feeling nostalgic for their hometown while listening to Malawi’s singing Arirang songs in Korean with the spirit of Koreans in the land of Malawi. There was.
The primary purpose of this event is to promote Korean culture through K-Pop at the level of public diplomacy and to inform the current situation on the Korean Peninsula through soccer matches at the level of sports diplomacy. For the realization, Malawi will actively support it, and I hope that the international community will also take an interest in it.”
Lastly, Vice President Hwang Ha-soo, university administrators, and the student council worked tirelessly to successfully hold a K-pop event to promote Korea at the school event provided by Jung Yu-Geun, the founder of Daeyang University and Daeyang Luke Hospital, and the Miracle For Africa Foundation. A sincere thanks to the officers.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and trial period, there were all the participants and winners of the K-Pop contest, the support of 8 local soccer game teams, village chiefs and residents, Koreans who took complex steps, and judges Kim Tae-young and Roland. I bow my head and sincerely thank you for making the event possible.
Lastly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the advisory committee members Changki Lee and Seongwon Park of the Malawi Branch for their work planning and production for this event.
