Director-Curator Cho Myung-haeng of the Yeongwol African Arts Museum (former Korean ambassador to Abuja) received members of the visiting Enugu State Folk Performing Art Troupe from Nigeria at the Museum in Yeongwol County, Gangwon Province, some 133 miles southeast of Seoul, on March 13, 2105. The Troupe came to Korea with the support of the Korea-Africa Association according to a leader of the Association.
They inspected the exhibits from Nigeria and various other countries of Africa with a strong interest as it was rather a rare occasion for the Africans to see their own culture and arts in a remote countryside from Seoul.
“The folk cultural performances presented by the Enugu State Folk Art Troupe at the Yeongwol General Social Welfare Center,” Director-Curator Cho told The Korea Post in a telephone conversation on March 15, “are those that were registered with the UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Asset.” Cho said that the members of the Nigerian Folk Art Troupe deeply impressed the Korean audience with dynamic and yet elegant body movements with rhythmic music of Africa.
“They will present performances also at the National Assembly Conference Hall in Seoul and various localities of Korea, including the Mokpo City of Jeollanam-do Province,” Cho said.
The Yeongwol African Arts Museum was elected again this year as one of the eight best public and private museums for 2015 for “Smart African Back Pack
Tour II,” an educational program given through the medium of Ipad apps.
