In recognition of India-Korea Cultural Centre (InKo Centre) Chennai’s contribution to activities on India-Korea cultural exchange since 2006, Young-seup Kwon, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Chennai awarded a certificate of merit to Rathi Jafer, Director of InKo Centre in on Thursday.
This is the first time such an award is being presented to someone from South India by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. InKo Centre was setup in 2006 to work across performing and visual arts.
“We are looking for more and more opportunities to bring together both the cultures. Our organisation celebrates the singular aspects of these two cultures and similarities. There are many trade and language links between the two nations,” said Ms. Rathi Jafer.
Mr. Kwon said that there are lot of similarities between Korean and Indian cultures. “Korean and Tamil languages have lot of similarities,” he said. To create more awareness about Korea in Chennai, a series of programmes are being planned. In the first half of this year, South Korea will present a nonverbal performance from Korea – Fireman - in August 2020 in Chennai. One of the K-Pop top divas will also be performing in the city and will judge to select the Best Performance of Chennai for the World K-Pop Music and Dance Competition.
In the second half of this year, Korean music, films and food festival will be held. The Consulate would provide a dedicated tea area for ‘Tea Ceremony : Time Travel to Mindfulness and Meditation’ presenting the aromatic experience from Korea to the hometown of Bodhidharma who first introduced ‘Zen’ in Korea.“Korea also has a very long tea culture, but it is not well known in India,” said the consul general.
Venu Srinivasan, chairman, TVS Motors and Goodwill envoy for culture and diplomacy of the Republic of Korea, said that he wanted to do something that will actively contribute to greater understanding between Korea and India. “What Ms. Rathi has done with Inko centre has created great understanding in Chennai about Korean culture and about Indian culture in Korea,” he said.
