Models wear traditional Korean and African attire during a fashion show at Africa Day 2026, held at the Grand Hyatt in Seoul on Wednesday. (Im Se-jun/The Korea Herald) Models walked the runway in hanbok themed on the colors of 20 African nations' flags in a fashion show during Africa Day 2026 in Seoul on Wednesday.The event was hosted by the African Group of Ambassadors in South Korea, The Korea Herald and the Korea-Africa Foundation.Each participating country was given a turn on the runway. Algeria opened the show with a hanbok in the country's signature green and white, followed by two Algerian models in a shimmering gold dress and a velvet skirt-and-jacket setup.At the end of the runway models in African traditional dress briefly showed their countries' traditional dance moves, drawing cheers from members of the audience whenever their home nation took the stage.The collection brought together work by hanbok designers under the Korean Culture Association's hanbok diplomatic envoy program, alongside African traditional attire, framed as a symbol of new friendship and cooperation between Korea and Africa.For the project, the AGA Africa Day Organizing Committee, chaired by the Rwandan ambassador to Korea, Bakuramutsa Manzi Nkubito, signed a memorandum of understanding with Korean Culture Association to strengthen cultural exchange cooperation. The two sides plan to continue joint projects aimed at expanding cultural diplomacy and arts exchange between Korea and Africa."This fashion show is a stage of cultural diplomacy that connects trust and friendship through the power of culture, through the first-ever African flag-inspired hanbok and African traditional attire, and presents a vision for future Korea-Africa cooperation," said Samuel Chung, the chairman of the Korean Culture Association.