By Priscilla Osaje

Mr Jeon Ju Ho, Director, Korean Cultural Centre in Nigeria (KCCN), has called on Nigerians to collaborate with the Korean community to promote the country’s traditional music infused in K-pop.

Ju Ho made the call at the opening of the exhibition of ‘K-pop Meets Korean Traditional Music’ in Abuja.

The exhibition is aimed at exploring the fusion of Korea’s rich musical heritage with the global influence of contemporary K-pop

K-pop, which originated from Korea, is now adored by countless fans around the world, and its music contains elements of Korean traditional music, providing a deeper emotional impact.

The ‘K-pop Meets Korean traditional music’ is co-hosted by the National Gugak Centre and KCCN.

It is part of the 2025 ‘Touring K-Arts Programme by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE).

The exhibition aims to introduce the new artistic attempts created when K-pop and Korean traditional music meet within the flow of Korean wave, with original forms of Korean traditional music that could be seen within K-pop

Ju Ho said the exhibition focused on Korean traditional music in the bond with the K-pop, which was the core of the ‘Hallyu’ that could foster the cultural exchange between Korea and Nigeria.

According to him, the event shows how Korean traditional music is being interpreted with K-pop.

It presents branches of Korean traditional music that could be found in various K-pop works that are divided into three categories.

“KCCN is promoting Korean traditional music to Nigerians, hoping for more collaborations and opportunities that traditional Nigerian music can also be introduced to Korea.

“The purpose of the exhibition is to introduce Korean traditional music to the Nigerian audience by bringing the medium of K-pop, which they are all familiar with.

“It is obvious that many Nigerians do not know about Korean traditional music, the reason we decided to bring Korean traditional music instruments that are also used in K-pop music.

“People will not have interest when it comes to traditional things because they are used to K-pop,” he said.

The director said the event would foster a great opportunity to collaborate with Korean traditional music or Afrobeat, adding that such would be an interesting trial.

“When it comes to Korean traditional music, to be honest, there has not been any collaboration around Afrobeat.

“This exhibition is from the National Gugak Centre, which is the primary institution of learning for Korean traditional music, not only the Korean Culture Centre.

“The government and institutions are searching for more collaboration and opportunities to bring the arts for exchanges to the next level,” he added.