K-pop fans, Olympians roam Korea House as Games take over French capital

The halls of Korea House were packed Monday as An Se-young romped to a historic badminton gold, fans of Team Korea braving the Parisian heat to watch the big screen in the garden while hundreds more visitors explore the cultural exhibitions inside

Visitors explore a cultural exhibition at Korea House in Paris on Monday. [JIM BULLEY]

PARIS — The halls of Korea House were packed Monday as An Se-young romped to a historic badminton gold medal, fans of Team Korea braving the Parisian heat to watch the big screen in the garden while hundreds more visitors explore the cultural exhibitions inside.

An’s win — met with a combination of largely Korean cheering and largely French polite clapping — was the backdrop to a morning of Korean culture, Korean food and Korean beer for a crowd that appeared to be about a 50-50 split between Korean fans and local visitors.

Country houses are a common feature at the Olympics. Typically a local building taken over by a temporary international tenant, country houses act as both a base for non-competing staff members and a home away from home for the country’s PR initiatives.

The Korea Day event takes place at the Korea House at Maison de la Chimie in Paris on Wednesday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Depending on the country they can range from a simple press room to a cultural hub or even a place to party.

“I love Korean culture, and our friends said the food here is good,” Marie, 24, told the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Korea House Monday.

A local Parisian, Marie was visiting Korea House with two friends. The group made a beeline for the “K-pop World in Photoism” booth, a K-pop themed version of the “four-cut” photo booths common in Korea. It cost a steep 10 euros (15,000 won) for the experience in Paris, but Marie and her friends didn’t blink at the price.

Cass beer and four-cut photos are on the menu at Korea House in Paris on Monday. [JIM BULLEY]

“10 euros here is a lot cheaper than a flight to Korea,” she said. “This week Korea has come to us. I’m not going to complain about the price.”

While the garden hosted the viewing party, complete with Cass beer on tap and Bibigo food, the halls of the Maison de la Chimie, currently rebranded as Korea House, are focused on Korean culture.

With hanbok on display and plenty for K-pop lovers to enjoy, the crowd inside Korea House skews younger and seems to be here more for a slice of Korea than anything specifically related to the Olympics.

“The kids love K-pop,” said Leon, who was visiting Korea House with his two children and standing stoically in the queue for the photo booths while they went to find the K-culture pin badges. “They heard about this event on Instagram and asked to come. It’s the school holidays and it’s free, so of course I was happy.”

Visitors line up outside Korea House 30 minutes before the doors open in Paris on Monday. [JIM BULLEY]

Out in the garden the Olympics are still in full swing.

It’s a more Korean crowd outside, with a mixture of Korean tourists and the local Korean diaspora. Youngmi and her husband live in Paris and have come to Korea House for a mini homecoming. The prerecorded chants — the badminton has English commentary, but with Korean chanting played over it between sets — making it feel like she’s back in Busan.

There are Olympians here as well. Kim Woo-min, a bronze medalist in Paris and the second Korean ever to medal in Olympic swimming, is doing the rounds, signing t-shirts as he tried to watch the badminton final. He wanted to go to the game, he told reporters here earlier, but couldn't get tickets.

Spectators gather in the shade at Korea House to watch An Se-young compete in the women's badminton final in Paris on Monday. [JIM BULLEY]

But it’s not all K-pop fans and homesick Koreans. There is also a sporting element to the Korea House crowd, in Paris for the Games but without a ticket on this particular morning.

Steve, from Canada, is one of those guests. An Olympic aficionado, this is his fifth Games and a love of fencing has bought him to Korea House.

“The country houses are the best part of the Olympics these days,” he tells the Korea JoongAng Daily whilst sitting in the sun with a glass of beer. “Countries put so much effort into these places and the experience gets better every time. I didn’t have anywhere else to be today and Korea’s on my radar because I follow fencing, so I thought why not come here and check it out.”

And what does he think of the Cass? “No comment.”

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]