From kimchi workshops to K-pop dance lessons, a centre devoted to hallyu – Korean culture – will bring a host of new activities to the UAE when it opens at the twofour54 complex in the capital on Thursday, March 10.
The Korean Cultural Center, the first of its kind in the GCC, is one of 29 branches in cities around the world, including New York, New Delhi, Tokyo and Egypt, with headquarters in Seoul, the South Korean capital.
It will be inaugurated during an invite-only ceremony on Thursday, March 10, attended by guests including Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE’s minister of culture and knowledge development, and Park Younggoog, Korea’s deputy minister of culture, sports and tourism.
See more: A look inside the newly opened Korean Cultural Center at twofour54
The two-storey space, spread over 1,556 square metres, includes a “traditional experience zone” that is designed to look like a hanok, an old-style Korean house, where cultural shows will be held and visitors can have their photographs taken in colourful hanbok (traditional costumes).
There is also a library with more than 2,000 books and a comprehensive digital section, a virtual-reality centre, plus separate rooms for seminars, martial arts, dance, cookery courses and calligraphy workshops.
Hyo-Keon Park, the director of KCC and cultural attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the capital, says Abu Dhabi was chosen as the GCC venue for the facility for two reasons: its significance as an important cultural destination, and the UAE’s strong ties with Korea.
“The UAE has a strategic partnership with South Korea,” says Park. “Including our collaboration on the Barakah nuclear power plant, Korea has only strengthened its relationship with the UAE in various sectors, from energy to culture.”
From Sunday, the centre will come alive with a range of workshops, exhibitions and courses, all of them open to the public. To encourage participation, most of the sessions are free to attend, with only nominal fees in place for extras such as textbooks and equipment.
Read more: KCON 2016 coming to Abu Dhabi's du Arena
“We kick off with language classes, as well as cookery and calligraphy courses,” says Park. “And there’s much more planned – free screenings of classic and new films, quiz nights, concerts, plays and even a tae kwon do competition.”
Of note, says Park, is an introductory language course. The first term is free to attend, on a first-come, first-served basis. All language courses will be run by the prestigious King Sejong Institute, with experienced teachers from Seoul.
As for the workshops on food, music, dance and art, Park says the local Korean community will be tapped to share their talent.
“There are around 14,000 Koreans living in the UAE,” he says. “That is half the number of all Korean expatriates in the Middle East. We expect many of them to contribute towards some of our classes and events.”
Besides focusing on its packed in-house schedule over the next few months, KCC will host a night of entertainment on March 21 at Abu Dhabi Theatre, featuring musical and artistic talent from Korea.
It will also participate in KCON 2016 Abu Dhabi, a Korean-culture convention, followed by K-pop concerts, on March 25 at du Arena on Yas Island.
• The Korean Cultural Center, in building 5 on the twofour54 campus, is open from 9am to 6pm (library hours are 10am to 8pm), Sunday to Thursday, closed Friday and Saturday. Call 02 491 7227, email info.kccuae@gmail.com or connect at www.facebook.com/KoreanCulturalCenterUAE
Feeling Korea
To mark its launch, KCC is hosting a night of hallyu entertainment, including a high-energy tae kwon do demonstration by martial arts group K-Tigers; a breakdance performance by Gamblerz; Heungbo's Breaking a Calabash, a play based on the finale from a pansori (a genre of musical storytelling) called Heunboga; and an interactive show in which artists will paint and draw to live music featuring traditional instruments, including the sinawi.
• Feeling Korea is on Monday, March 21, at Abu Dhabi Theatre on the Corniche Breakwater. The show starts at 7pm and entry is free. Call 02 4917 227 for more details
ciyer@thenational.ae
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Brief scoreline:
Wolves 3
Neves 28', Doherty 37', Jota 45' 2
Arsenal 1
Papastathopoulos 80'
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQureos%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E33%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESoftware%20and%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%243%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
