2008年5月27日，在韩国的一次考察将扈鲁的收藏研究视野和发展方向拓展至海外。在韩国民俗村里，展示着各式各样的葫芦制品，有农耕时期的器皿，有小农经济时代的用具，这些都是珍贵的、有特殊意义的葫芦，并不对外出售，其中一组装种子的葫芦器皿引起了扈鲁的格外注意。执着的扈鲁一次次找到这组葫芦器皿的主人——一位白发的韩国老人，表达自己对这些葫芦的喜爱之情和对这些葫芦中所蕴含文化的研究兴趣。由于语言不通，扈鲁只能用夸张的肢体语言表达自己的想法，惹得老人捧腹不已。那一刻扈鲁突然发现，小小的葫芦让两个不同国度的人跨越了文化的障碍，消除了彼此的陌生感。最终，扈鲁的不懈努力和坚持感动了那位老人，以高价买到了在韩国农耕文化中发挥重要作用的“葫芦器皿”一套。扈鲁又走进一个铁匠铺，一个大水瓢引起了他的注意，他手持水瓢，环视铁匠铺内的陈设，联想到他所创建葫芦博物馆内的铁匠炉，感慨万千，中韩两国一衣带水，民俗文化、葫芦文化渊源流长。就在这次参观采风即将结束时，扈鲁在民俗村一文创商店里惊喜发现了用葫芦制作的台灯，他毫不犹豫把它收藏带回了中国。 
    On May 27, 2008, A visit to Korea broadened Hu Lu’s horizon and his interest was directed to overseas collection and research. In a Korean folk village, various kinds of gourd products were on display, such as utensils in the farming period and in the era of small farmers' economy. For their value and special meanings, these gourds are not for sale. One set of the gourd utensils used to contain seeds attracted Hu Lu’s attention. For several times, Hu Lu visited the owner 
   
    2014年，第一届世界诗人大会在韩国召开，曲阜孔子文化学院副院长国伟先生同曲阜“葫芦张”应邀出席了大会，会间韩国京畿道教育总监赵成胤先生邀请与会专家学者到他家做客，并向国伟赠送了他编纂的《赵成胤的葫芦故事》一书，赵成胤自己种葫芦，加工制作葫芦艺术品，这些都一一记录在他这本书里。国伟拿到这本韩国葫芦文化资料，风趣地对赵成胤说，我们一同来了一位是中国的“葫芦张”，那你就是韩国的“葫芦赵”了。赵成胤对一得此名感到非常高兴。接着国伟又向这位韩国的“葫芦赵”介绍说：“中国曲阜还有一位著名写意葫芦画家、葫芦文化研究著名学者扈鲁先生，我要把你所编著的这本书转送给他，陈列到他所创办的葫芦博物馆里，欢迎您方便时访问中国，到葫     芦博物馆做客。”国伟回国后向扈鲁讲述了韩国之行这段故事，并转送了这本书，扈鲁接过《赵成胤的葫芦故事》如获至宝，这是他所收藏的第一本韩国葫芦文化资料，对国先生心存感激。2016年，第二届世界诗人大会在中国曲阜召开，在国伟先生的引见下，韩国“葫芦赵”如约走进葫芦博物馆，像是老友重逢，同扈鲁紧紧地拥抱在一起…… 
    In 2014, the First General Conference of the Traditional Poetry Writers was held in Korea, and Mr. Guo Wei, Vice President of Qufu Confucius Culture Academy, and “Gourd Zhang” (a master of gourd culture) were invited to attend the conference. During the meeting, Mr. Cho Seong Yun, Education Director of Gyeonggi Province, invited the scholars to his home, where he presented Guo Wei with his book Cho Seong Yun’s Gourd Stories in which stories about his planting gourds, processing and making gourd artworks were told. With this book on  
 
     扈鲁向来访的韩国全国韩籍华人总联合会总会长、韩国新华报社社长曹明权介绍传统的中国葫芦文化。 

    2018年10月25日，来自韩国的专家学者代表团来到葫芦文化博物馆考察，扈鲁带领韩国友人参观了来自各地的藏品，异形葫芦、绾结葫芦、长柄葫芦、鸡蛋葫芦，以及用葫芦做成的象棋及各种乐器，让韩国友人目不暇接。在一组“葫芦人生历程”泥塑前，扈鲁详细介绍了民俗文化中的葫芦元素。生、老、病、死，每一个人生节点，都有葫芦文化的习俗相伴，体现了葫芦在民间独特的文化地位。韩国友人对此表现出了浓厚的兴趣，他们在这组场景中找到了韩国结婚时踩破葫芦瓢的民俗传统场景，大家激动地赞叹着并惊呼起来。因葫芦结缘，葫芦这个跨越文化障碍的吉祥物在这里熠熠闪光。

    On October 25, 2018, a delegation of experts and scholars from Korea visited the Gourd Culture Museum. Hu Lu showed the Korean friends his collections including special-shaped gourds, knotted gourds, long-stemmed gourds, egg-gourds, as well as chess pieces and instruments made of gourds. In front of a group of clay sculptures titled “Life Accompanied by Gourds”, Hu Lu introduced in detail the gourd elements of folk culture. At different stages of life, a person is accompanied by different customs of the gourd culture, thus reflecting the unique status of a gourd in the folk culture. The Korean friends were greatly fascinated. At the sight of a scene showing a Korean custom of trampling on gourds in a Kor