The seed of desire to visit Korea was deeply planted into my heart during my teenage years. Many Nepalese youths are influenced by Korean culture and often discuss Korean fashion styles, movies, songs, and dramas, trying to adopt these elements. As far as I know, the wave of Korean culture started to spread in Asia shortly before the 21st century began. Nepal was no exception to this trend. In fact, the Korean wave greatly influenced the Nepalese youths. I watched the English-language Korean TV channel “Arirang” at my home. During the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Olympic Games, I could see the Korean athletes perform excellently to win medals. During the 2002 World Cup finals as well, I watched the Korean team playing brilliantly to earn the country its well-deserved reputation as the powerhouse of Asian football.

Korea: A Utopian World in My Dream
These were my impressions of Korea during my younger days back in Nepal.
Korea remained a kind of utopian world for someone like me, for whom it
was no easy matter to travel to this country. Nevertheless, my seed of
desire eventually began germinating when I managed to enter the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of Nepal in 2010. Fortunately, within six months,
my office asked me if I was interested in participating in the Korea
Foundation’s Korean Language and Culture Program for Diplomats.
I carefully articulated my keen interest as I could feel how strongly
my desire to visit Korea came alive in my heart. After some time,
I received an email message from the Korean Foundation informing me
that I was selected as a participant in the program for 2011.
I was happy beyond description.

I was determined to take this wonderful opportunity to learn the Korean
language and culture and to acquire a deeper understanding of Korea
so as to contribute to the cultural interaction and people-to-people
exchanges between Nepal and Korea. Besides, I wanted to make
friends with Korean diplomats during my stay in Korea,
which will be very useful for my future career in diplomatic service, especially in international forums debating regional and global issues.

When I landed at Incheon International Airport and headed toward the Nepalese Embassy in Seoul, I felt as if I had come to my hometown as I could see Koreans have quite similar facial features as mine. Though a small country, Nepal is a multicultural, multi-caste, multi-religious, and multilingual nation. The majority of its population are part of the Aryan or Mongolian ethnic groups. I belong to the Magar caste, which traces its ancestral origin to the Mongolian race. The Mongolians in Nepal, which make up about 30 percent of the total population, look similar to the Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese. That is why, I felt as if I had arrived in a land of my origin. Moreover, I found many praiseworthy things about Korea that can provide lessons for many countries.

I appreciate the patience and disciplined behavior of Koreans. Whether at a subway station, a bus stop, a pedestrian crossing, a restaurant, or a department store, they patiently wait in line for their turns. According to my experience, they like to maintain peace and quiet everywhere, whether travelling by subway or eating in a restaurant. Quite opposite to my expectations, I also found most Korean youths to be rather shy and introverted.

Memorable Experiences

In Korea you can easily buy local products in any department store or supermarket, thanks to its active culture of commercialization. From the time of my arrival in Korea, my friends frequently mentioned soju. Then, while having dinner at a restaurant, I tasted this Korean spirit and found it to be very similar to a local liquor of Nepal, known as raksi, made with grains like millet, rice, and maize. Similarly, a few days later, I learned about makgeolli when my friend from Yemen brought it from the market and offered me a drink. When I drank it, I found it tasted exactly like nigar, which my mother used to give me with roasted meat during Dashain, one of the largest festivals in Nepal. But the difference is that the Nepalese liquors are not available in supermarkets like the Korean native alcoholic beverages, because they are prepared for personal or household use only. They are sold only at small hotels called Bhatti. In a word, the local products of Nepal have not found their way to retail stores yet, while soju and makgeolli have secured their places at department stores and supermarkets around Korea.

In addition, I have fallen in love with Korean food and I admire the Korean way
of dining. It gives me immense pleasure to visit a Korean restaurant with my friends,
sitting together with legs crossed, and eating foods like bulgogi and kimchi with chopsticks. The most exciting experience for me is wrapping meat with lettuce stuffed with garlic and other ingredients, and then putting the whole thing into my mouth to chew it deliciously. At first, I was confused about how those foods should be eaten and which stuff went with what, and the many side dishes on the table. With so many dishes in front of me, I had no idea where to begin. But now I feel completely at ease and enjoy everything about Korean meals.

Korea has more technologically advanced cities other than Seoul, as well as natural havens like Jeju Island and historic cities with rich cultural assets like Gyeongju. I am happy to have opportunities to visit these wonderful places. I want to experience more about Korea during my stay so that I can share my delightful memories with other people in the days ahead.

Kul Bahadur Magar
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal