Aucklanders are being offered a free taster of Korean culture through a series of free cinematic screenings at Academy Cinemas this week.
The Korean Film Festival is offering six of Korea's best films, from Oscar-winning horror Parasite, to the 2022 mystery romance Decision to Leave.
The Korean Consul General in Auckland, In-Taek Kim, says the festival, which runs until Saturday, is part of celebrations marking 60 years of formal diplomatic ties between New Zealand and South Korea.
New Zealand's relationship with South Korea began long before the two nations formally affirmed their diplomatic links. It tracks back more than 70 years ago to when around 6000 New Zealand soldiers were sent to help in the Korean war.
"Koreans are forever grateful for that," Kim said.
Today, the latest Ministry of Foreign Affairs data shows South Korea is our sixth largest trading partner, worth more than $5 billion.
One of Asia New Zealand Foundation executive director Simon Draper's first diplomatic posts was in Korea. He says he never foresaw just how much Korea would grow, both economically and in terms of its cultural influence.
"They have come through a lot of hardship, and that hardship has honed what's important to them. Whether that's in their music, or their art," he said.
"[Korean culture] is popular everywhere - there's clearly some sort of secret sauce that makes Korean culture really appealing across a whole lot of countries."
There's a word for the rise in popularity that all things "K" have faced - it's called Hallyu. Translated literally, it means Korean Wave and is used to describe how things like K-pop, K-dramas, and K-beauty have taken the world by storm in recent years.
Draper says this has driven a growing understanding of Korean culture down under and helped Koreans here reconnect with their own culture.
"It's one of those win-win situations that allows New Zealand to better understand a country that is growing in importance," he said.
"And for those Koreans in New Zealand it gives them a sense of being, of being able to show their pride of what they've managed to achieve."
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