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| Foreign tourists pose during a makeup class at an Espoir store in Seoul, Feb. 15. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has run four programs including the makeup class for foreigners to experience Korean culture since 2015. / Courtesy of SMG |
Seoul invites thousands of foreigners to diverse programs
By Chung Hyun-chae
Rimal Prasad received his very first professional makeover at an Espoir store near Ewha Womans University in western Seoul, Wednesday.
"An artist put eyeliner and some powder on my face, which I really like. I learned a lot. He told me that I need contouring," the 24-year-old New Zealander said. "I will try again. I wish there would be something for male makeup because when you look for YouTube videos there are no male YouTubers who do makeup online."
The makeup class was organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG).
"I signed up for the makeup class because I wanted to try something different," said Prasad, a fan of hallyu, or the Korean wave. He came here Jan. 25.
His trip here is mainly to attend a K-pop dance class in Gangnam.
"I attended the class four times. If I had more time I probably would have attended a lot more," Prasad said.
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| Rimal Prasad, right, receivs his very first professional makeover during a makeup class at an Espoir store near Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Feb.15. / Courtesy of SMG |
Another participant was Irina Piak, 35, a Russian, who is fond of Korean cosmetics.
"I came to get more information about Korean cosmetics brands," Piak said. "Compared to Russian products, I think Korean cosmetics, especially skincare products, are really good," she added.
Piak said she usually uses products of Korean brands including Innisfree and Faceshop.
"Today I bought one from Sulwhasoo, which is a little expensive, and I will also look around for beauty products of Espoir that I used in this class," Piak said.
Besides the makeup class, the city government has run three more programs ― K-pop dance lessons, K-pop vocal training and visits to a broadcasting company theme park ― for foreign tourists to experience Korean culture.
The first program SMG launched in August 2015 was the dance class. With the popularity of the program, the city government introduced the other three programs last year.
Despite concerns over China's regulations on hallyu following Seoul's decision last July to deploy THAAD here, hallyu fervor seems to have continued.
More than 4,700 foreigners from 64 countries have applied for the four programs since the city government launched the first dance class in 2015.
About 1,400 of them were selected to participate in the programs.
The most-sought-after program among the four is the dance program, in which participants can learn dance movements of K-pop songs from dancers coming from SM Entertainment.
The program is held at SM Town in Coex Artium ― a six-story K-pop complex run by SM Entertainment in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul.
Shin Yi Wang, 29, who is from Taiwan, took part in both the makeup and dance programs during her one-week trip to Korea.
Wang said she developed her fascination for hallyu after she watched the Korean drama "My Love from the Stars" starring Jun Ji-hyun and Kim Soo-hyun.
"I was so excited to see how K-pop singers are trained. I also realized that they went through tough training because the dances were so difficult," Wang said.
"Those experiences made my journey more meaningful because I cannot try this in other countries. I will recommend the programs to my friends."
Jessen Alejandro, 22, who introduced herself as a big fan of Bangtan Boys (BTS), a K-pop boy band with seven members, also visited Seoul to take part in the SMG's K-pop dance program.
"I am satisfied with the program in that the trainer taught us dance moves systematically. I was also impressed to see singers' clothes and signatures," Alejandro said.
SMG plans to start a cooking class in March in which tourists can make and taste Korean food.
"We created programs to provide foreign tourists with special opportunities to experience hallyu and Korean culture," said Lee Hee-suk, deputy director of the Tourism Business Division at SMG. "I hope our programs will contribute to increasing tourists' satisfaction with their trips to Korea."
Those interested in taking part in the programs can apply at visitseoul.net. Information on the programs is available by clicking Highlights in the menu bar and selecting Hallyu Tourism, then scrolling down to Hallyu Activities Program.
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