The facade of the Korean Cultural Center in Paris. Courtesy of Korean Cultural CenterQ. Is there a way people living outside of Korea can explore Korean culture personally besides the internet?

A. A really neat place where you can explore Korean culture without traveling all the way to Korea is a Korean Cultural Center.

In fact, the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) runs 32 cultural centers in 27 countries. Located in Paris, New York, Cairo, Beijing and other major cities, these centers aim to promote understanding about Korea through classes and other cultural programs.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the centers have successfully organized notable programs both off- and online. Recent cases include an eye-catching cultural advertisement campaign displayed within subway cars in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, as part of K-Fest 2021. Korea’s cultural icons, such as traditional Hanbok, folk paintings and the Oscar-winning film “Parasite” have been transformed into distinctly colorful graphics and placed as banner ads in the subways of Moscow and St. Petersburg frequented by more than nine million passengers a day.

Another notable program that has been well received by local residents is the “Indie & Doc Korean Film Festival,” co-hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in Spain. After opening with the 2019 movie, “Lucky Chan-sil,” starring Oscar-winning actress Youn Yuh-jung, the festival drew more than 13,000 people throughout its run.

Spanish film critic Roberto Cueto stated in his congratulatory message: “There are some who, after witnessing the accomplishments of ‘Parasite’ and ‘Minari,’ view Korea simply as an emerging nation in terms of cinema. However, Korean cinema has in fact risen to prominence in leading festivals since the late 1990s, and has served as a milestone for global film circles since then.”

With K-pop and K-dramas enjoying an undisputed surge in popularity, Korean language, cooking and dance classes are also regularly offered at centers around the world.

**“Ask Us about Korea” is a Q&A section about Korea and Korean culture. If you have any relevant questions, please send us an email (KOCIS@korea.kr). We’ll choose one of the questions sent by our readers and answer it in this section.**