Munhwa Gongjakso SE:UM, an Incheon-based culture and arts social enterprise, is opening up the K-culture market in Central Asia.
SE:UM organized the "Korea-Tajikistan Grand Culture Festival" in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe on May 18 and in the country's second-largest city, Khujand, on May 20. The company has managed the event for four consecutive years, and this time around 10,000 local spectators watched the performances over two days.
In particular, the Khujand performance marked the first time a Korean performance troupe had taken the stage there. This effectively expanded K-culture, which had until now stayed in the capital region, to provincial cities. The festival was arranged as part of cultural exchange between the two countries ahead of the Korea-Central Asia summit, and was hosted by the Korean Embassy in Tajikistan.
SE:UM's strength comes from a global track record built over 10 years. In 2015, it drew attention at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the U.K., earning a perfect score from local media. It later staged the first-ever tour by a Korean performance troupe across five cities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and even took charge of events commemorating diplomatic ties with Sudan and Djibouti. Having passed through the Middle East and Africa, it has now expanded its stage to Central Asia.
Founded in 2011, SE:UM is a culture and arts social enterprise that has been active based in Incheon's Bupyeong and Michuhol districts. It has presented content crossing genres such as traditional Korean music, jazz, visual arts and festival planning, and also runs the world music group "SE:UM," which fuses traditional and modern music.
Taking the stage at this festival were singer KISU, the yeonhui performance team Cheorat, and pansori singer Park Jeong-su. During the two-hour performance, when the Tajikistan national anthem was played with traditional Korean music accompaniment, local spectators sang along, bringing the atmosphere to its peak. The venue also featured booths for K-beauty, food and design.
"Over the past four years of organizing the Tajikistan Korea Festival, I have felt Korean culture and arts permeating every corner of Central Asia," SE:UM CEO Yoo Se-um said. "We will continue active cultural exchange with Central Asian countries going forward."
