By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young The new Greek Ambassador to Korea Loukas Tsokos visited the War Memorial operated by Korea War Memorial Organization (KWO) on Feb. 5, 2025. KWO President Baek Seung-joo congratulated Ambassador Tsokos on his appointment to Korea and said, “Greece is a grateful country that helped South Korea achieve freedom and peace even under difficult circumstances due to the civil war before the Korean War.” In response, Ambassador Tsokos said, “The War Memorial was the first place I wanted to visit after my arrival in Korea.” He explained that this was because the name o
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Seongnam City Mayor Shin Sang-jin and Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Sami M. Alsadhan met at the city hall on Feb. 6 to discuss cooperation plans to foster high-tech industries between the two countries, the city of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, announced. The meeting was held in conjunction with the city's game and cultural content industry, which has developed around Pangyo Techno Valley, and Saudi Arabia's willingness to foster the technology industry. Pangyo Techno Valley is the largest concentration of the game industry in Korea, with ab
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee A delegation from the Committee of Family and Women of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which is directly under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, visited the Seoul Foundation of Women & Family (CEO Park Jung-sook) on Feb. 6 to share examples of Seoul's women and family policies and discuss ways to cooperate between the two organizations. The meeting was held at 4 p.m. at Seoul Women's Plaza and was attended by Park Jung-sook, CEO of the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family (SFWF), and Ms. Mukharam Nurmatova, Deputy Chairperson of the Uzbekistan Women's
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Daegu-Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone Authority (DGFEZ), led by Commissioner Kim Byung-sam, received Ambassador Alisher Abdusalomov of Uzbekistan to Korea, who visited the free zone on June 6 and discussed cooperation plans. The Uzbek ambassador was accompanied by the head of the General Department of Culture, Education, Health, and Social Affairs and a counsellor. The DGFEZ was represented by Commissioner Kim Byung-sam and Head of Innovation Growth Division Lee Eun-ah. During the meeting, opinions were exchanged on the follow-up status of the trade mission dispat
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Gyeonggi-do Governor Kim Dong-yeon and Canadian Ambassador to Korea Tamara Mawhinney met on Feb. 6 to discuss ways to respond to tariffs, which have become a hot topic since the inauguration of the second Trump administration. According to Gyeonggi-do, the U.S. administration recently announced the imposition of 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, but decided to suspend them for a month on Feb. 3, one day before the effective date. In addition, in response to the U.S. imposing an additional 10% universal tariff on all Chinese imports, China has announced s
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with Chinese Ambassador Dai Bing on Feb. 6 and exchanged views on bilateral relations between South Korea and China and Korean Peninsula issues. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cho met with Ambassador Dai Bing at the government building in Seoul, and after assessing that the bilateral relationship has been steadily developing with positive exchanges, he said, "Let us continue to work closely together to achieve more substantial and fruitful results this year." "To this end, I expect the Chinese Embassy in Korea, unde
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo CEO Lee Eun-jae of Korea Finance for Construction (K-FINCO), a professional construction cooperative, held a meeting with Ukrainian Ambassador to Korea Dmytro Ponomarenko at the cooperative's headquarters in Dongjung-gu, Seoul, on Feb. 6 to strengthen strategic cooperation. The meeting was attended by K-FINCO CEO Lee Eun-jae, Executive Director Park Sung-jin, Ambassador Ponomarenko, and Counselor for Economic Affairs at the Embassy of Ukraine in Seoul. K-FINCO CEO Lee Eun-jae sought ways with the Ukrainian side to jointly explore opportunities for domestic cons
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Uzbek Ambassador to Korea Alisher Abdusalomov visited Daegu City Hall on Feb. 5 to discuss exchange and cooperation with Daegu City Mayor Hong Jun-pyo. The city signed a city of friendship and cooperation agreement with Bukhara Province, Uzbekistan, in August 2022, and has been conducting exchanges in the fields of trade and culture. Located in the heart of Central Asia, Uzbekistan is a country of ‘Special Strategic Partnership’ with the largest Korean diaspora of 172,000 people. The country is considered highly competitive in the energy sector, with the world'
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo The following article was contributed by Lim Sung-nam, Global Advisor, Bae, Kim & Lee; Former Vice Foreign Minister, of South Korea, to Diplomacy Journal through the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Seoul. --Ed. What is the general perception of Kazakhstan among Koreans? Many might think of it as a "landlocked country in Central Asia" or "a country where many Koreans live." The fact that only about 40,000 South Koreans visited Kazakhstan in 2024 suggests that the country remains relatively unfamiliar to most Koreans. However, the cooperative relationship between Ko
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Jang Se-il, mayor of Yeonggwang-gun, Jeollanam-do, discussed offshore wind power project cooperation with French Ambassador to Kolrea Philippe Bertoux at the county government office on Feb. 4. According to the county, the meeting was organized to explore ways to create synergy between the two sides in the field of renewable energy. "We have a vision to leap to the center of renewable energy by utilizing the natural conditions of sunlight and wind," said Mayor Jang. "We look forward to realizing carbon neutrality, improving the income of civilians, and revitali
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Unification Minister Kim Young-ho met with acting US ambassador to South Korea Joseph Yun on Feb. 4, the ministry said. Kim and Yun exchanged views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula and discussed cooperation between the two countries. Kim welcomed the appointment of Acting Ambassador Yun, an expert on the Korean Peninsula and North Korea, and congratulated U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President James David Vance on their recent inauguration. He asked the U.S. Embassy in Seoul to play an active role in the process of cooperation on unification and N
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok had luncheon with the ambassadors to Korea from major partner countries in the economic sector on Feb. 4. During the meeting, he emphasized that under the acting presidency, the government is performing its duties in each area including the economy, diplomacy, and security without disruptions, in order to ensure the smooth operation of national governance. He also reaffirmed the commitment to maintaining the current foreign policy direction and to continuing cooperative relations with major countries. The
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young 湖月撈影 湖月撈影 "Trying to catch the moon in the lake." 湖水無塵映月明 "The lake is clear without dust, shining brightly in the moonlight" 輕波一掬碎光生 ""When the calm waves rise, a shattered light is seen." 虛浮難取縈手裏 "A floating shadow is hard to catch, and it drifts in my hand." 空勞夢影滿江聲 "Empty labor is all that remains, and the river is filled with the shadows of dreams." This poem expresses a sense of vain desire and futility through the contents, "I try to catch the moon reflected in the lake, but I can't." The lake is clear, and the moonlight is clear. But the object of des
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo The Seoul Metropolitan Government decided to create the 'Garden of Gratitude' in Gwanghwamun Square, a symbolic space that expresses gratitude and respect for those who participated in the Korean War, and invited 22 foreign ambassadors from Korean War participating countries for a project briefing on the 'Garden of Gratitude' on Feb. 4. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon introduced the meaning of the symbolic space and sculptures to the ambassadors. "Without the help of friendly countries at the time, Korea's liberal democracy and prosperity would never have been possible,
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Lee Cheol-kyu, chairman of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Resources, SMEs and Startups Committee, met with Czech Ambassador to Korea Ivan Jančarek on Feb. 3. During the meeting, they discussed strengthening exchanges and cooperation between Korea and the Czech Republic, including nuclear power plant construction projects. On this day, Chairman Lee met with Ambassador Jančarek at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. This is the second time that the Czech Ambassador to Korea has visited the National Assembly's Industry, SMEs and Startups Committee s