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By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Roufida Abouelwafa
Photos = Tophy Cho
While traveling in Arab countries may be alarming or mysterious to some people, for others it feels adventurous and exciting. Yet only a few people attempt to make that adventure and go exploring in Arabic parts of the Middle East. One of those people is Tophy Cho, a Korean who will share with us his experiences traveling in Arabia.
Tophy has published a series of videos on YouTube and Facebook, along with K-pop videos that have made him a minor celebrity in the Arabic-speaking world as he interacts with locals and goes on tours. He tries to reflect a real and true image of the countries he visits, not the mere touristic images. For those of you dithering whether or not to visit an Arab country, I hope this interview will help you gain the proper perspective.
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| Tophy Cho loves the heritage and people of all Arab countries. |
- Could you tell us what brought you to the Arab world when you first started travelling and what made you start your YouTube channel, The Daily Oppa?
My interest in Egypt and Arabic-speaking countries in general stems from a trip I took to Turkey while I was on my way to Korea to visit family. The flight to Korea stopped in Istanbul and I decided to look around the city for 10 days, more out of curiosity than out of any cultural or historic knowledge of the place. To my surprise, I kept meeting people who were fans of K-pop and Korean soap operas. I’d be on the bus and someone would start up a conversation with me about their favorite Korean TV show. Or I’d be sitting in a cafe and someone would approach me and ask me if I was from Korea; not mainland China or Japan, but Korea. Never in my life, even in the U.S., did I meet so many people asking me if I was from Korea rather than China or Japan. Growing up, it always seemed that everyone automatically assumed me to be Chinese. So this was a shocking first for me, that their knowledge of Korea was enough to even differentiate my heritage. However, maybe the biggest surprise for me was when some of my newly found Turkish friends told me that K-pop was even bigger in the Arab world.
That peaked my interest. So I decided to create a social media channel for Arabic-speaking K-pop fans. Through my channel, I began to make friends with Arab K-pop fans from all over: places like Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon and even Syria. The more I learned about their stories, their history, their heritage, the more I began to respect and appreciate all these people I was getting to know, from a very different world than my own. When I generated enough followers on social media that I felt I could travel comfortably across certain countries and have friends show me around, I decided to make the leap and meet these people and blog about my adventures.
- How many countries have you visited, and are there any future countries which you're planning to go?
I’ve been to Morocco, Egypt and Lebanon. My plan is to also blog and host K-pop parties in Tunisia, Algeria, Jordan, Iraq and Palestine.
- Tell us more about the differences you faced. Are there any similarities between Korean people and Arab people?
There are similarities between Korea and Arabia in the way family is prioritized and in the way that things are meant to be respected and honored.
There are differences that will naturally happen, depending on the values with which you grow up. However, at the core of it all, my experience has been that people are still people. Arabic people treat me with the love and respect that they would give any fellow human, rather than judging me based on my background, beliefs, customs or things like that. They judge me on my character, not on where I’m from or my personal beliefs.
- Which trip did you enjoy the most and why? Could you describe it using only one word?
Each trip and experience is always a new thing. This is my second time in Egypt. It’s different from my first time. It's even better now. This is a place that just keeps growing on me. I’m building a lot of nice memories here, so it’s hard for me to think of one word to describe such a thing.
- Which country met your expectations and which ones overcame them?
Well, my trip to Turkey was the gateway to the Middle East. After I realized Turkey was a great place to visit, I had more courage to travel to the Arabic world. The first country was Lebanon. Initially, I had my reservations and fears because of what friends and family were saying about Lebanon. However, after arriving and experiencing the country, I realized that much of what people believe about the world is based on their media bias. The news doesn’t always give you the true experience of a country. So after this, I don’t know if I’ve had any expectations when I travel. It’s more that I keep an open mind and hope for the best.
- How would you describe your two visits to Egypt? Which one did you enjoy the most?
I'm enjoying Egypt even more this time than the first time. I’ve made many friends here and they’re hospitable enough to show me around. What I like the most about this trip is how Egyptians love food. It's like a national sport here. I've tried so many new foods all around with my friends here, and been introduced to many of their favorite dishes. The thing about Egypt -- specifically Cairo -- is that despite how busy and crowded Cairo is, you can manage to find places of solitude and sanctuary, such as the mosques along Al Muizz Street. All of this would definitely make me come back to Egypt again.
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| Tophy Cho posts a video about his stay in Egypt. It has captured a lot of attention as people love to see what it's like to be a Korean traveling in Egypt. |
- You're holding a K-pop party this time. Tell us your thoughts about it and also about the Egyptian K-pop fans you've met.
K-pop is like a subculture here. It’s not widely popular the way Western music is. What's special about Egyptian K-pop fans is the people who listen to it just love it. Also, there are elements in Korean pop music that make it different from other kinds of music. There’s this sense of a larger social media family that happens when someone is a fan of a Korean pop group. If someone is a loyal fan of the group Exo, they call themselves "Exo-l." If you're a fan of the group BTS, you call yourself the "BTS Army." A fan of Super Junior? Then you're an "Elf." From this, these pop fans find a place online with other fans of the same group. You might have something specific, like an Egyptian Exo-l social media site, or something broader, like what I do. I include all K-pop fans who are in the Middle East, rather than one specific country or pop group.
Although I don’t consider K-pop to be that big anywhere in the Middle East, the interest is present enough that last year Abu Dhabi hosted a KCON, one of the large K-pop conventions that take place in Paris, New York or Los Angeles. The fact that a KCON is now being hosted in the UAE shows that there’s enough interest in Korean pop music elsewhere in the Middle East to bring in the most popular groups and stars.
I've noticed that there are a lot of K-pop fans in Egypt, compared to some other Arab countries. The fans here seem very loyal to their Korean pop stars.
K-pop has been a powerful source for mutual, cultural understanding. My perception of what the Arabic people are is very different from before I started my K-pop social media channels. I think the same goes for all the Arabic people who have fallen in love with Korean pop.
- From your own experiences, what are the things that you'd recommend to a Korean who's planning to visit Egypt?
To be honest, I’d say that Koreans in general would want the standard touristic experience. In that case, explore Egypt’s ancient artifacts and history. Then there's the magical beauty of Egyptian nature that one can see in places like Sharm Sheikh, Luxor or even Alexandria. These places are by the sea, where time moves at a much calmer pace than in Cairo.
However, for me, I prefer mingling with the locals. Befriending people in Egypt and experiencing Egypt through their eyes is my favorite. So I enjoy being in the heart of Cairo, even though it can be loud and hectic. It’s what excites me about traveling: the people.
The impressions people in Korea have of the Middle East is generally based on their evening news. So rather than having a personalized understanding of the Arabic people, the heritage and the religion, most Koreans know what they are fed from TV. However, I do believe that if the Korean people were to make an effort to visit these countries, they would realize that there’s enough cultural similarities to find some sort of kinship -- a bonding -- with the Arabic people. Our traditions and values can be very similar in many ways. I also believe that the Korean people would experience a similar level of hospitality and generosity that is unparalleled anywhere in the world.
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Thank you, Tophy Cho, for your time. I hope this helps to build true insight for those thinking of visiting an Arab country. It's different when you hear about an experience straight from someone who has the same background and values as you do. I hope this encourages people to travel more. The Latin philosopher Augustine of Hippo once said, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
Please visit his social media site here to learn more.
wisdom117@korea.kr
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