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| Indonesian Ambassador to Korea Umar Hadi, center in the right side monitor view, is joined by his family at his residence in Seoul, as he talks with Indonesian Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, left side of the monitor, during the first Integrated Batik Virtual Showcase livestreamed on YouTube, Nov. 29. Joining from Jakarta, the minister was accompanied by his wife Yanti Airlangga who is the Indonesian Batik Foundation Chairwoman. / Courtesy of Embassy of Indonesia |
By Yi Whan-woo
The Embassy of Indonesia in Korea hosted an inaugural sales campaign for handicrafts, fashion items and other products of batik ― the ancient Indonesian art of creating intricate patterns on textiles with wax-resistant dyes.
The campaign, the first Integrated Batik Virtual Showcase, was livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook, Nov. 29, attracting more than 6,500 visitors and the total sales amounted to 1 billion Indonesian rupiah ($71,000).
Under the theme of "Buy Batik, Wear the Art and Respect the Artist," the virtual event was organized in accordance with the Indonesian government's push to nurture a creativity-driven economy as the host the 2nd World Conference on a Creative Economy in 2021.
The Seoul embassy was the first of the Indonesian diplomatic missions to form a relevant taskforce to cope with the conference preparation.
The taskforce promotes Indonesia's creativity-driven economy represented by 17 sectors, such as batik and fashion.
The Nov. 29 campaign consisted of three programs ― business matchmaking, discussions on batik fashion and the so-called "Instagram live batik hunting."
The participants from the Indonesian side included Ambassador to Korea Umar Hadi, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and his wife Yanti Airlangga who serves as the Indonesian Batik Foundation chairwoman, Miss Universe Indonesia 2020 Ayu Maulida Putri and members of the Indonesian community in Korea.
They were joined by various nations' ambassadors to Korea as well as students from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and Busan University of Foreign Studies.
In recognition of the embassy's achievement, the Indonesian World Record Museum presented an award of appreciation to Ambassador Hadi.
Hadi noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the batik businesses, mostly micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises.
He pointed out the embassy accordingly has been working with the Indonesian Batik Foundation, two leading Indonesian fashion designers ― Novita Yunus and Ai Syarif ― and Miss Universe Indonesia 2020 to help increase sales, especially contract-based wholesales.
In a congratulatory message, Minister Hartarto said the embassy has taken "exemplary initiative" to restore the national economy.
The Indonesian Batik Foundation chairwoman expressed the hope that other Indonesian diplomatic missions will follow with similar initiatives to support Batik SMEs.
The embassy assessed the Nov. 29 campaign facilitated business meetings between batik businesspeople and potential Korean buyers.
The embassy seeks to feature a batik exhibition at Dongdaemun Design Plaza next year.
On the sidelines of the sales campaign, the embassy in collaboration with the Indonesian Batik Foundation presented "Indonesian Batik Ambassador Awards" to those from various industries noted for their dedication to promoting batik.
They were Krakatau Posco President Director Kim Jhi-yong, Hyundai Motor Asia Pacific Headquarter Vice President Lee Kang-hyun, LG International Indonesia President Director Lee Chang-hyun, Lotte Chemical Indonesia President Director Kang Jong-won, PT. Hana KEB Bank Indonesia CEO Kang Jong-won, Visit Indonesia Tourism Office Country Manager Daisy Park and Han Yoo-ra, an influencer with numerous followers on Instagram from the two countries.
Batik plays a central role in Indonesian culture and folklore, having been practiced for 2,000 years.
The process uses dye-resistant wax to create elaborate patterns and designs, and the wax is then washed to reveal the batik pattern or the process is repeated to create multiple colors.
The United Nations declared year 2021 as the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development.
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