The Korea Culture Center Nigeria (KCCN) within the week marked the 2024 UNESCO World Book And Copyright Day with 60 FCT pupils Storytelling event featuring classic and contemporary Korean children’s literature.
The event began with a storytelling session featuring Papa Soltang (a storyteller in Hangeul) and a librarian at the center, reading to the pupils drawn from six public and private schools – LEA Primary School Gusau, LEA Primary School Wuse Zone 3, LEA Primary School, Ketti, Greater Seeds RichMaris Academy, Kuje, LEA Primary School, Sauka, and LEA Nomadic School, Jabi.
The story time was followed by a question-and-answer session, which saw the children display their attentiveness and the power of reading out loud by responding rightly to all the questions.
Pupils and their teachers were also assigned six different English translated Korean folklore storybooks to read, discuss and present lessons learnt before others.
While the center had at one time held a low-key read aloud event titled Tales in the Hanok, the World Book Day activity targeted not only the promotion of contemporary Korean authors, but introduced the children to traditional Korean literature, enabling them discover a new culture and the similarities between Nigerian and Korean cultures.
“We do hope to push more of this, because some Korean folklores are similar to our Nigerian stories, and it will be fun to find a meeting point through books. It will make for a fun event for children, just as we have fun events for adults. Something that captures their imagination and fantasies,” said the center’s Administration staff, Habiba Sharon.
Describing the robust relations between KCCN and the FCT Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB), the deputy director, culture & creative arts unit, Irene I. Okafor, said both collaborate in several projects – spanning artistic (drawing) and sports (taekwondo) competitions.
