The Korean community in Rwanda, together with the embassy of the Republic of Korea, organised ‘Korea Week’ to celebrate their national culture and heritage, as part of their National Foundation Day celebrations.
The Korean Week, running from October 3 to 9, is the second of its kind since the opening of the embassy in Kigali in 2011, according to Korean envoy to Rwanda, Kim Eung-Joong.
Korean ambassador to Rwanda, Kim Eung-joong.
The Korean week, which started with the Korean National Day reception at the Ambassador’s residence in Kigali, will see many Rwandans treated to a series of events like Sing a Korean song contest, Korean film festival, and the Ambassador’s Taekwondo Cup.
On Friday, many Koreans living in Rwanda, and movie lovers attended the opening of the film festival that was officiated over by the Minister for Sports and Culture, Julienne Uwacu, at Century Cinema in Kigali.
Minister for Sports and Culture Julienne Uwacu delivers her speech during the celebrations at Century Cinema in Kigali, on Friday. Photos by Joseph Mudingu.
The Korean film festival will be the highlight, according to the embassy, featuring four selected Korean movies, ‘The Front-line’, ‘The Face Reader’, ‘Architecture 101’, and ‘My Brilliant Life.’
These films are covering various genres from action and thriller to comedy and drama.
While giving his welcoming remarks, Kim said the Embassy of the Republic of Korea wants to share its culture and heritage with the Rwandan people so that they can have deeper understanding of its culture through events, such as film festivals which will contribute to strengthen friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
Revellers watching a film at Century Cinema during the film festival.
"We do this every year with the aim of introducing the Korean culture to Rwanda and it is good to see so many people turning up for the film festival. I thank all those present with special thanks to Minister Uwacu for sacrificing her time to be here with us. I am sure that this and other collaborations with the people of Rwanda will continue to bare fruits for the two countries,” said Kim
While giving her speech, Uwacu appreciated the relationship between the two countries and praised the commitment of the two governments to strengthen social, political and economic relations.
"I’m happy to be here tonight to share with everyone the beauty and richness of our cultures through film, and I thank the Korean people for always expressing their friendship with the Rwandan people through the promotion of arts which is a component of our shared cultural heritage. We therefore look forward to building a better and much stronger partnership,” said Uwacu
Every year, the Government of Korea invites undergraduate or post-graduate students in Rwanda to Korea and offers them opportunities of studying in Korea. Through the scholarship briefing session, the embassy explained how to apply for their scholarships.