Commemorating the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Portugal, HUFS launched the South Korea-Portugal Culture Week. Hosted jointly by HUFS Institute of EU Studies and HUFS Camões Portuguese Language Center, the Culture Week kicked off on May 21, 2021 (Fri.), with various online and offline cultural events as well as an international conference.

 

The first day of the Culture Week kicked off with the event ‘A Cultural Expedition to Portugal’ to promote cultural exchange between the two nations. The event presented two photo exhibitions: an exhibition of digital photos of Portugal by HUFS Camões Portuguese Language Center and a photo exhibition on South Korea’s public diplomacy activities by HUFS Institute of EU Studies jointly with the Portuguese Embassy in Seoul. These exhibitions will be displayed at offline locations, including the Seoul Campus Main Building, Smart Library, Imun 107 and other areas across the campus, until the end of May. They can also be viewed online.

 

The opening ceremony of the digital photo exhibition was held in the presence of numerous distinguished guests including Manuel Gonçalves de Jesus, Portuguese Ambassador to Korea; Kim Bong-Chul, Director of HUFS Institute of EU Studies; Maria João Amaral, Director of HUFS Camões Portuguese Language Center; Im So-Ra, Chair of HUFS Department of Portuguese; and Jung Jae-Min, President of the Korean Association of Lusophone Area Studies.

 

The ceremony was followed by a talk concert with Portugal experts including Kim Hyun-Soo, a Portuguese wine connoisseur and wine bar ‘Le Phare’ owner; Gang Seon-Dae, an architect and Ph.D. at the University of Regensburg; Kim Hyun-Min, a reporter for soccer journal Goal.Com; and Professor Gu Ji-Hoon of Changwon National University. The talk concert covered interesting aspects of Portuguese culture, such as Portuguese wine, contemporary Portuguese architecture, and soccer matches between the two nations. The first day of the Culture Week ended with the screening of ‘Night Train to Lisbon’, a film that captures the beautiful scenery of Lisbon. The day’s events were joined by HUFS students in strict compliance with social distancing and disinfection regulations under the support of HUFS General Student Council.

 

All of the Culture Week events drew much media attention and were wrapped up with an international conference hosted by HUFS Institute of EU Studies and HUFS Camões Portuguese Language Center on May 22, 2021 (Sat.).