A girl gets a hair cut.
Imphal, Aug 15 : For four days, young and old fans of Korean culture made a beeline for Manipur Press Club, Imphal, where an 11-member team from Seoul has come down to dispense free medial treatment through acupuncture, medicines, haircuts and gifts.
Pai Hyee Jou, a Korean painter, was stunned when Mapui, a young Manipuri girl, addressed her in fluent Korean.
The impressed painter gave her name and the two chatted for nearly half-an-hour.
“It has always been my dream of meeting and speaking to a Korean and I realised the dream when I spoke to the painter,” Mapui said.
The team came to Imphal for missionary activities.
M. Manichouba of Uripok in Imphal, the pastor of an Imphal-based evangelical church, is leading the team.
He organised the team’s trip through his contacts in Seoul, where he had stayed for theological studies from 1996 to 1998.
Korean films, songs and serials are an instant hit in Manipur.
Many of them have even learnt Korean through TV lessons.
The organisers had employed Manipuri youths fluent in Korean to communicate with the team.
Korean culture has always fascinated youths in Imphal. It has become fashionable for Manipuri boys and girls to sport Korean haircuts and dresses.
Most video parlours in the city have more Koreans films than Hollywood or Manipuri films and the youths are more familiar with Korean actor Rain than Shah Rukh Khan.
“It is a pleasant surprise that so many Manipuris know Korean. I really love these young boys and girls,” Jou said.
Joseph, a 21-year-old, who got a Korean haircut, said, “We visited many saloons in Imphal, which claim to provide authentic Korean haircuts. But I have never been satisfied. Today’s hairdo is perfect,” he said.
Manichouba said the plan was to give service to 60 people a day.
“But the response was so overwhelming that the team had to work beyond the scheduled hours,” he said.
People started thronging the venue even two hours before the start of the daily programme.
The team began work at 10am and was supposed to finish by 2pm.
However, they had to work till 3pm daily during the four-day camp that concluded today.
“This is our first visit. We are happy with the response. Our trip and the people’s response would improve the relationship between Manipur and Korea,” Cho Tae Soo said.
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