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C h a n g i n g p e r c e p t i o n s Hassan Abdou, who is originally from Egypt, is the founder of the online Facebook community Arabs and Egyptians in Korea. He said that he resented the misperceptions of Is- lam among Koreans at first, though he now understands it. “(Koreans) only have the ideas the Western media gave them about Islam,” he said. Korea itself has only entered the global conversation in re- cent years, after all. Before Abdou moved to Korea there was no K-pop wave or K-drama craze. All he knew about the country was that his LG television in Egypt was made in Korea. Eight years later he calls Korea home. The community has actively sought to bridge the cultur- al disparity, with significant support from the 27 embas- sies from Islamic nations, most located in Itaewon or Han- nam-dong, near the mosque, and offices within the Korean government itself. Shaukat Ali Mukadam, the Pa- kistani ambassador to Korea, said that the embassy hosts a number of cultural events throughout the year, including photo exhibits and festi- vals, to encourage more intermixing and dialogue. “Korean society has transformed in the last 50 years,” Mukadam said. “There’s been rapid development in multiculturalism, but we still don’t have that direct line of communica- tion (with the Korean community).” Sulochana K. Indran, a represen- tative from the Malaysian embassy, agrees, but believes that this rela- tionship will develop over time. He said the Korean government is ex- tremely sensitive to the communities that house its growing foreign population, and often assists the embassy in promoting cultural diffusion. However, that’s a pledge that is controversial among many Koreans because of the budget allocated toward the endeavors. “There has been a gradual increase (in Muslim immigrants) over the years, as Korea’s ‘hallyu’ has made outsiders more aware of Korea and its attributes,” Indran said. “The increas- ing number of foreign nationals entering the homogenous Korean society will of course pose challenges to both for- eigners and Koreans alike, but Koreans seem to be taking this evitable globalization in their stride.” ‘ T h e s u r r o u n d i n g s a n d p e o p l e — g e t t i n g t o k n o w f r i e n d s f r o m o t h e r c o u n t r i e s t h a t a r e a l s o M u s l i m — h a s m a d e m e a s t r o n g e r M u s l i m , a c t u a l l y g o t t e n m e m o r e i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e r e l i g i o n . ’ M a d i h a h , M u s l i m s t u d e n t 85