A member of the gugak (traditional music) and global music group Goraeya on Dec. 6, 2024, performs in a joint recital with the quartet SB Circle at the outdoor garden of the Cultural Foundation Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to mark the "2024 Korea Season."

By Lee Dasom
Photos = "2024 Korea Season" UAE's official Instagram account

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host this weekend an event featuring Korean cultural content such as K-drama soundtracks and fusion gugak (traditional music).

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Seoul on Feb. 19 announced its hosting of "Korea Season in Korea 360" from Feb. 21-22 to mark the opening of Korea 360, a center for promoting Korean culture, at the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in Abu Dhabi, the UAE.

The event is the 12th of the "2024 Korea Season," which started in October last year and ends in April this year, hosted by the ministry, Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange and the KCC.

The event will feature the soundtracks of K-dramas popular in the UAE and fusion gugak performances. The exhibition hall will host autograph signing and interactive events for Korean culture and screenings of promotional videos for Korean pop and series.

Singers K-Will and Gummy and fusion gugak group Queen will perform.

Korea 360 will see its pilot opening on Feb. 28 at Dubai Festival City Mall.

The facility will display cultural and interactive Korean content and host events exhibiting and selling industrial items related to Hallyu (Korean Wave) such as agricultural and fishery products, consumer goods and cosmetics.

The center's trial operations will end on April 11, when it hosts its official launching ceremony.

"We hope that this event boosts expectations in the UAE for the overseas promotional center Korea 360 and connects groups interested in Korean culture and arts with the Korean Wave of pop culture," the ministry said. "Along with Korea 360 in Indonesia that opened in 2022, we hope that the UAE's Korea 360 emerges as a base to help Hallyu businesses advance to the Middle Eastern and Asian markets."

Singers K-Will and Gummy and the gugak (traditional music) group Queen will perform K-drama soundtracks and fusion gugak from Feb. 21-22 at the event "Korea Season in Korea 360" held at Dubai Festival City Mall in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.