Shillong, Nov 1: South Korea is known for its electronic and automobile exports, but arguably its best exported soft power is K-pop, and during the KoreM festival at the Ward’s Lake on Friday fans went crazy on everything Korean.
KoreM is a one-day festival organised by Meghalaya’s department of Arts and Culture in collaboration with South Korea’s Global Influencers’ Network (GINCON).
During the festival, Korean food, fashion, face painting, cosplay and accessories were at display. The event was promoted as: “a spectacular celebration of Korean culture, rich traditions, fashion, mesmerising performance and mouth-watering cuisines from South Korea”.
From Bibimbap (Korean rice dish) to accessories such as pens, diaries and others were sold. Later in the evening, Korean K-pop sensation Aoora and DJ Fridayyy performed much to the delight of the fans.
Tourists from Mumbai, Manipur, Assam, West Bengal and other places together with the locals enjoyed the autumn afternoon till late in the evening at the picturesque venue and moreover the entrance was free.
Since it was some sort of a cultural exchange event, fans were encouraged to participate in the open mic stage. A GINCON member challenged the fans to sing a Korean song and a local fan lived up to the challenge and was given a cuddly Korean stuffed toy.
A young girl from Mumbai sang on the stage while others danced and the crowd wholeheartedly participated, singing and dancing with the wannabe singers and dancers. Those who took up the challenge were handed certificates.
From Chhattisgarh, Aman and Kritika Kashyap (siblings) were seen enjoying the festival. “My younger sister is a big fan of K-pop,” Aman said. Kritika, on the other hand, was busy wearing the Korean traditional outfit Hanbok, gushing and taking pictures.
“I am from Bhangagarh, Guwahati. It’s such a lovely feeling to be here in Shillong and that too with so many young people enjoying the day,” a couple from Guwahati said.
In his stall, S Thapa from Mirik, West Bengal was busy printing T-shirts, coffee mugs with pictures of people for about Rs 300. “I have been coming to Shillong for the past three years. Every time I come here, I feel so happy,” he said.
A woman with her family savouring the Korean delicacy said that her husband works in Manipur. “It’s so peaceful here. We are grateful that we came here to enjoy this unique Korean festival.”
It’s for the first time that such an event, collaborating with South Korea, was held. Such events do have the potential of building people to people contact in the near future.
Recently, North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) announced that it would begin a Korean language course from July 2025 in partnership with South Korea’s Indo-Korean Business Culture Centre.
NEHU Vice Chancellor said the partnership with IKBCC would strengthen ties between India and Korea and offer students exposure to East Asian culture through cultural exchanges and employment opportunities.
Meghalaya government has also partnered with Japan this year for the Cherry Blossom festival and Meghalaya has already benefited by being able to send nurses from the state to Japan this year.
Similarly, events like KoreM can go much beyond fans drooling over K-pop sensations and could open job opportunities for local youths and further cultural ties.
Read: Meghalaya Govt awaits heavy rain-induced power infrastructure damage report in Garo Hills
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