An Arab in South Korea

When I learnt that I would be going to South Korea to attend the World Journalist Conference 2009, I did not know what to expect because South Korea as a country and culture would be a totally different experience since I have not visited an East Asian country before.

Visiting Thailand would have been more realistic to me, since many Emiratis go there for their summer vacation. I have also heard a lot about it from relatives and friends who had been there. But South Korea?

The World Journalist Conference is an annual event organised by the Journalists Association of Korea (JAK) and invites journalists from across the world to promote South Korea as a tourism and business destination.

No doubt I was sceptical about visiting the place since I didn't know anything about South Korea, except for its ongoing tension with North Korea and the names of some of its popular electronics brands. I wanted to get more information about the place before going there, so besides running a Google search, I also met with the Counsellor and Deputy Head of mission at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Abu Dhabi, Keejong Chung. He was very generous in giving me essential information to help me understand the country and its culture.

I spent six days in South Korea, travelling from one place to another, including a visit to an island. One of the first things that I sensed while dealing with the Korean people whom I encountered was their hospitality and their willingness to help visitors.

I did receive some curious looks wherever I went in Korea, which one of the members of the JAK explained was because of the "Arab features of my face". That was because she said many of the locals were not used to seeing such a "different" face since not many Arabs visit Korea.

As I got to know more about Korean culture and history, I realised there were some aspects similar to Arab culture and society. The Koreans are reserved and have strong family bonds. The hospitality aspect was also quite identical to the Arab hospitality. The country is also very clean.

The country also seemed quite safe, as it was easy to walk around Seoul and take a cab to somewhere. The only difficulty was many of the cab drivers cannot communicate in English as the only language they speak is their native tongue. So forget about trying to get more information about a certain place you are going to from a cab driver unless you speak Korean.

Knowing more about women's status in the Arab world in general and in the UAE in particular was one of the 'hot' topics among the Korean journalists and the other journalists from across the world. I got all kinds of queries on the topic such as: Are women equal to men when it comes to jobs; can women drive in the UAE; can Arab women choose their husbands; can they acquire high positions in their societies?

My answer to them was the status of women in the Arab world is changing. Arab women are becoming more active in their respective societies. Talking about women in the UAE, I explained to them that our government has always supported women to achieve more and more. Women in the UAE are encouraged to study, pursue higher studies, work in different fields and aim for high positions.

Many of the journalists were amazed to know that we already have four women ministers in the Cabinet and two ambassadors, one in Spain and the other in Sweden.

I felt I did feed some of the 'hunger' for getting information about women in the Arab world, but the existing stereotype that Arab women are 'oppressed' in their societies is yet to fade out.

I was also asked about one of the strangest notions many Koreans apparently have about Arab people whose family names start with 'Al'. Many of them apparently thought I was from a royal family because my family name starts with 'Al', as in Al Theeb. They were surprised to know that having 'Al' in an Arab name does not necessarily mean he or she is from a royal family. It is just a part of the name.

I also had the chance to meet the UAE Ambassador to South Korea, Abdullah Mohammad Al Maaina, who has been the UAE's envoy there for four years.

He said only one per cent of UAE residents visit Korea, but there are many Koreans who visit the UAE, mostly businessmen and some while on transit to other countries.

"The Korean people see the UAE as a country that offers security as well as being a connection to other major countries. The number of Koreans visiting the UAE is increasing monthly which means the relationship is growing," Al Maaina said.

I personally was astonished by the number of Korean people who were travelling with me on my flight back and for many of them it was their final stop.

The driver who dropped me at the airport, said: "Many Koreans now are heading to the UAE as the UAE and especially Dubai's image is good among Koreans."

ANYOUNG HA SA YOO! I am sure the writer will never forget this Korean greeting. I am an Iraqi medical doctor doing my Ph.D in Korea in neurosciences in one of the top brain research centers here. I am sure the writer did well to expose some of the amazing Korean culture and I would love to tell her that she didn?t see anything from the Korean real life in the countryside which is very interesting and close to our traditions. Unfortunately all Arabs are away from this community and don?t know a lot about this beautiful culture and history who can help in our evolution since a lot of similarities between our nation and the Korean even conflicts. However, thanks for the nice article.
From Dr. Ameer H.
Iksan
South Korea
Posted: July 25, 2009, 17:55