On February 3 and 4, the K-POP Fest and the Korean Day were held as part of the 2025 IYF Worldwide Campaign, events organised by the IYF – Paraguay section. The International Youth Fellowship held their events, which promoted the culture of Korea, at the arena of the National Secretary of Sports here in Asunción.
The IYF organised a big juvenile congress with people from Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, Korea, and other places worldwide. The goal of the organisation and this international congress is to keep the hope of a future where youth lead the world with a strong and broad heart. Multiple conferences about motivation, commitment, and religion were held during three days.
Source: @canaguayo
As for the activities related to Korea, it was held on the last two days of the congress. Multiple musical presentations were offered to the children and teenagers present. K-POP was put forward, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Some musical parts had the dancers wearing clothes that reminded us of Squid Games, the world-renowned television series on Netflix from Korea. Some participants also had the famous red costume from the show. The clue of the K-POP shows was when a PSY impersonator came to sing and dance the famous Gangnam Style! With the help of a Korean-Spanish translator, he invited some children and teenagers to come on stage and dance to the tune of the song with him. He reenacted it until everyone who wanted to dance on the stage had a chance to! Apart from music, some “Korean Language 101” was also offered to the people participating in the event at some point during the two days.
Source: @canaguayo
For lunch, multiple stands were offering from Paraguay and Korea to everyone such as ramen, Korean BBQ chicken, and kogo, the Korean-style pogo. The latter is getting very popular in North America, with kogo restaurant opening everywhere in Canada and the United States. It was indeed excellent, and I would like to eat more variants of it! Around the open-air food court, merchants were selling traditional Paraguayan handicrafts, targeting the ones from the exterior, while some others were selling Asian merchandise, targeting kids who like manga, anime, and pop music from Korea.
Source: @canaguayo
Everyone who participated in the events promoting Korean culture enjoyed it! It highlights the community, which has been in Paraguay for almost 60 years — celebrating its official anniversary on April 22nd. Now, the government is saying that around 25,000 people are part of the Korean community in Paraguay. They own convenience stores, Korean restaurants, technology stores, and clothing stores, to name a few categories. They have their church, with services available in their language, and, the most important thing: they have the Paraguayan-Korean Educative Centre, a staple of their community! The Korean community might not be as big as the other ones, but it is a vibrant one, and the display of their arts and culture this week showed it! They and the government of Korea are significant contributors to Paraguay – thanks for sharing your culture with all of us in Asunción!
