KBS World Radio to Mark 40th Anniversary of Arabic Service

KBS World Radio will host a walkathon event on October 24 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the launch of its Arabic language service.

The walkathon will take place at the Olympic Park Peace Plaza in southern Seoul and is the very first South Korea-Middle East friendly sports event held in Korea. 

Participants in the walkathon will include South Koreans who worked on construction sites in the Middle East in the 1970s, Koreans interested in Arab culture, Middle Eastern fans of the Korean Wave as well as listeners of KBS World Radio Arabic service invited from abroad.

Side events such as a K-pop performance, a traditional Arabic cultural performance and a quiz show will also be held this day following the four-kilometer walk around the park.

Also a dozen embassies of Arab nations in Seoul will set up booths at the event to promote their culture and also give out for free halal-certified kebab sandwiches to all participants.

KBS Arabic Service is the country’s one and only Arabic radio service for some 300-million Arabic speakers worldwide in 22 countries. Since its first broadcast in September 1975, it has been introducing Korea to the Middle East through news, K-pop shows, Korean language education programs and other broadcasts for an hour a day.