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Journey to Africa: A Close Look into Africa

A 10-part lecture series on Africa, as an effort to enhance understanding about Africa is being presented at the Korea Foundation Cultural Center.

A Regular Lecture Series on “Africa,” organized by the Korea Foundation Cultural Center, has helped Korean audiences to better understand the history, geography, and cultural diversity of Africa, of which most Koreans have only a limited familiarity. With a hope that these lecture sessions will help to build a foundation for more cooperative relations between Korea and Africa, which in large part are only now getting underway, the speakers have much ground to cover, in terms of shedding light on the countries and peoples of Africa.
Along with addressing such areas as Africa’s history, society, religion, festivals, arts, cinema, literature and oral tradition, and major French speaking African countries, the series will conclude with a lecture on efforts to promote closer relations between Korea and Africa (November 26, 2009). The lecture speakers include nine Korean professors and specialists affiliated with the African Research Institute of Youngsan University.



Emerging Africa
Due to an urgent need to strengthen diplomatic relations and boost cooperative efforts with Africa, the Korean government organized a Korea-Africa Forum in Seoul in 2006, which included the participation of heads of state from five African countries. As for the African continent, it is known in Korea as a “land of opportunity and vast market with untapped potential.” Thereafter, various initiatives have been launched in order to secure a share of Africa’s abundant energy resources. NGO groups are now actively participating in a growing number of humanitarian aid projects. In addition, the Korean government’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Africa has been increased by some 300 percent. Even more encouraging is the fact that people-to-people exchanges, centered on tourism, have been expanding at a rapid pace.



Misperceptions
As for the Korean people, what images do they typically associate with Africa, the birthplace of human civilization and the world’s second-largest continent, which is home to some one billion people? The Korean public’s knowledge about Africa still has a long way to go, which might be even farther than the geographic distance between Korea and Africa. When it comes to Africa, Koreans tend to think of two images. One is a negative image related to poverty, civil war, dictatorship, malaria, AIDS, ethnic cleansing, military coups, and terrorism. The other is a more positive perception associated with hard-earned freedom, abundance of natural wildlife, spectacular scenery like Mt. Kilimanjaro and tribal people who preserve their mysterious ways with unique masks, costumes, and customs.
These generalized images, however, are rooted in Western society’s stereotypical perceptions about Africa. Such thoughts have been integrated into the consciousness of Koreans through various channels without any filtering. Movies and TV programs, like “The Animal Kingdom,” “Tarzan,” “Out of Africa,” and “Blood Diamonds,” have also provided Koreans with a superficial glimpse of Africa. Koreans have thus failed to overcome the two extreme images of Africa associated with its “wondrous world of nature” and a “black continent of poverty and chaos.” That is, Koreans are connected to Africa via “Europe,” along with its misperceptions. In his book, “Black Skin, White Masks,” Frantz Fanon expounds on the widespread dichotomy between white and black people: the white as civilized and the black as still a part of nature. Moreover, he points to white people who treat black people as a sub-human link between ape and man. In Korea, few people here are free from Fanon’s criticism and discriminatory views of Africa. In particular, after celebrating Korea’s attainment of $20,000 per capita income, based on the pursuit of Western-style capitalism and an attitude of “Let’s live it up,” Koreans are prone to having a vulgar sense of superiority, while ignoring the plight of underdeveloped countries and looking down on their people and cultures. Of course, by accepting this kind of “white supremacy” attitude toward Africa, it has remained all the more distant from Korea. Consequently, there are far too few individuals in Korea with a proper understanding of Africa. It is thus necessary to conduct systematic research on Africa in order to rectify this situation. Advancement into the African market cannot be successful without a comprehensive understanding about Africa’s politics, diplomacy, economy, society, and culture. Based on an accurate understanding of Africa, Korea can identify areas of opportunity for meaningful cooperation and exchange for the realization of mutual benefits. In addition, there is a need to foster human resources and broaden the scope of exchange through expanded networking of related individuals and organizations. Indeed, it is time to discard our cloak of misunderstanding of Africa and adjust our approach to realizing two-way cooperation between Korea and African countries.

Growing Interest in Africa
I delivered an introductory lecture entitled, “Why Africa?” on September 17. Above all, I was gratified by a noticeable level of interest in and appreciation for Africa among the young people in the audience, as evidenced by their advance preparation and serious attitude. This gave me much encouragement that Africa-Korea relations will continue to thrive in the years ahead. I hope this informative lecture series on Africa, the firstever effort in Korea intended for the general public, will be helpful for those who plan to visit Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, volunteers who will participate in development assistance programs, business people who long for an investment opportunity in Africa, religious groups involved with missionary activities, and others who might travel to Africa for tourism experiences. Finally, I would encourage the Korea Foundation to consider the provision of this kind of lecture program at sites outside of Seoul for the convenience of residents in outlying areas.

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