Essay Contest Result

Since I'm really into literature and stories, I would like to begin my essay with telling a story that is rarely heard; the story of Korea in Iran. I can claim that the friendship between Iran and Korea, in a deep sense, was established about 40 years ago. In 1977, following the visit of Mayor of Tehran, Gholamreza Nikpey, to Seoul, in order to cooperate between Korea and Iran, two large streets were laid in the capital of the two countries. A street in Tehran was named Seoul Street, and a street in Seoul was named Tehran Street. These two streets, as distant siblings, should know each other better and share their rich historical and cultural backgrounds.

As Exo sings in their El Dorado track that we "Gotta find the El Dorado", Iranians began to search for this El Dorado in post-revolution era. South Korea was quite well known in Iran through its famous brands like Samsung, LG, Daewoo, Hyundai and KIA. However; Korean culture was introduced to most of Iranians through historical drama series especially Jumong and Dae Jang Geum which were broadcast on Iranian national TV channels in Persian dubbing. It's hard to describe the nervous hearts of Iranians when Jumong went to a battlefield, all eyes on him praying for his victory.

Due to the adaptation of Korean culture to some elements of Iranian culture, Iranians were able to establish a deep emotional connection with Korean ideology. Soon afterward, the young generation tried to discover Korean culture beyond historical TV series. Therefore, Hallyu blessed and charmed teenagers with its warm waves, opening a colorful world of beauty, hope and motivation to Iranian audience. Especially in Iranian Girls' Junior and High schools, a passionate generation of K-popers and K-dramers, as we call it here in Iran, emerged. Since friends have a profound effect on us during adolescence, friends introduced The Korean Wave to each other. The advancement of technology has helped to spread this wave, and with the emergence of online stores, the interest in buying Korean products related to K-pop, K-drama, K-beauty, K-fashion and Korean food among Iranian fans has increased. Also, the active presence of Iranian fans in social media highlighted their existence for their favorite artists, and sometimes the reactions of these artists to Iranian fans and of course, the international brilliance of Korean artists beyond the boundaries of Korea, made this wave even more powerful among Iranians. Now there's a huge demand on learning Korean language in Iran.

This true story of the cultural discovery of a new land named Korea continues to this day. The interesting point about this story is that in the school history and geography textbooks of those Iranian teenagers who fell in love with Korea; there wasn't a significant article about this land and its people. I think now is the time to change the direction of this story and deeply immerse this interested young generation in the authenticity of Korean history and culture so that their understanding of this land will flourish not only in one area but also in other areas as well.

Proposals on how to improve the image of Korea in Iran; Discovering the elegance of El Dorado more deeply

Now that Iranians have known this El Dorado, it is a pity to visit only one city manifesting Korean entertainment. Here are some suggestions on how to broaden the image of Korea in Iran:
1. Departments on the Study of Korean Culture, Korean Language and Literature along with related subjects to Korean history, culture and language should be established in Iranian universities. In recent years, efforts have been made in this direction but it's still under development. Also, Korean Cultural Centers and Korean Language Institutes should be established in different cities of Iran and not exclusively in capital alone.

2. Holding on-line or off-line cultural events, exhibitions, contests and meetings related to Korean history, culture, language and art. Holding discussion sessions on praised Korean literature, movies, series and music in order to promote appreciation of Korean culture and constructing more vivid images of Korea through interactive negotiation. Of course, the Korean Embassy in Iran holds considerable cultural programs for Iranians, which I think should be expanded more to include all aspects of Korean culture and be accessible to all Iranians easily.

3. More aspects of Korean culture should be portrayed in media and also in school textbooks in Iran. Korea should also be mentioned as a rich and distinct civilization from other Eastern civilizations based on its particular and valuable principles.

4. In my opinion, the Korean entertainment industry and Korean celebrities should also play a more significant role in promoting the authentic Korean history and culture. Koreans are very skillful in making TV shows and TV programs, so I think we can use the same elements related to The Korean Wave to open a loophole to other aspects of Korea. A TV program should be produced by featuring popular celebrities and in each episode a new and less-seen aspect of Korea is discussed. These aspects can include introducing the historical and cultural sites of Korea in order to make foreign people more familiar with these places and to expand tourism. The program can also include themes such as Korea's different historical periods, Korean language, food, festivals and special holidays in Korea. For the audience to have an interactive part, a special application for this program can be designed so that the audience can participate in choosing the theme of the next episode or it can turn into a venue where the audience can share their opinions with each other. In the application, easy access to already broadcast episodes with subtitles in different languages should also be provided. The program can even provide competitions and challenges on the themes covered in the episodes for audience and grant prizes. It would be nice if the audience could be involved in the selection process for the next celebrities to appear in the show.

Conclusion

Finally, the Iranian people's image of Korea should not be limited to just one or two K-pop groups or television series. Steps must be taken to provide a broader image of Korea so that the original sketch drawn by The Korean Wave takes on more elements, colors, and dimensions so that this complete image of this new El Dorado can be used as a model for economic, social, technological and educational progress.