"Parade of Nations 2024 for Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula” Held in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabia branch of the PUAC (Head Kim Jung-woon) held the "Parade of Nations 2024 for Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula” at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), a prestigious Saudi university, on February 29.

KAUST, which is a cradle of scientific and technological talent development and R&D in Saudi Arabia and is home to more than 8,000 top students and researchers from around the world, organizes the Parade of Nations event every year. This year, more than 4,000 people from 119 countries participated in the event, where participating nations ran booths and organized parades to exchange traditions, food, culture, and music.

The PUAC Saudi Arabian branch, together with Koreans from KAUST, operated a Korea booth and introduced Korean culture and activities for the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula. It attracted attention from foreigners who participated in the event by putting stickers symbolizing a unified Korean peninsula on Korean cup ramyeon noodles, cookies, and on the faces and hands of visitors.

They also introduced Korean food such as tteokbokki, japchae, gimbap, and bulgogi, as part of efforts to promote K-culture. 

Na Young, a PUAC council member from the Middle East Chapter who is working as a water resources treatment specialist at KAUST, said, "Reflecting the recent popularity of K-culture, the Korea booth attracted the largest number of visitors, with many foreigners asking questions about Korean culture and unification," "The event was quite effective in informing foreigners from 119 countries about the need for peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula," Na said.