DUBAI, United Arab Emirates —
South Korea's soft power
matches its economic achievements, President Moon Jae-in said on Sunday at the
start of a
Middle East tour expected to focus on business and trade
opportunities.
اضافة اعلان
K-pop stars have "charmed the world", the
president said at Dubai's Expo in the UAE, the first leg of a trip that will
also take him to
Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Moon talked up the Korean pop music, TV and film that has
become wildly popular in many countries across the globe, including in nations
in the Middle East.
"(Koreans') yearning for mutual happiness has fostered
soft power just as strong as their economic might," he said, in a speech
book-ended by sporting performances of taekwondo as well as of traditional
dance.
"Under a starlit desert sky this evening, a dazzling
show of K-pop starts who charmed the entire world will come alive," Moon
told an audience of several hundred on a damp afternoon in Dubai.
Korean culture is riding high after the success of K-pop
bands such as BTS, Oscar-winning film "Parasite" and TV shows like
"
Squid Game", Netflix's most popular series launch.
The craze has not escaped the
Gulf region, with BTS the most
streamed artist on Spotify last year in Saudi Arabia, usually seen as a bastion
of Islamic conservatism.
Moon's UAE schedule includes meetings with Prime Minister
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, and Abu Dhabi
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
He was expected to discuss cooperation in the hydrogen
industry, a growing sector for the post-fossil fuels era, and collaboration in
defense, infrastructure, and climate change, according to South Korean news
agency Yonhap.
On Tuesday, Moon will meet Saudi Arabia's Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, as well as Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the head of oil
giant Aramco and the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, Yonhap said.
He is expected to announce the resumption of Gulf free-trade
talks after meeting the leader of the Gulf Cooperation Council on Wednesday,
Nayef Al-Hajraf, before discussions with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah
El-Sisi in Cairo on Thursday, the agency added.
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