By Lee Kap-soo Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming said on Oct. 13, “Korea and Shandong Province will see greater possibility and chances in bilateral trade and economic cooperation in the future.” Delivering a congratulatory speech at the 2023 Dialogue – Korea, Shandong industrial cooperation exchange event held at Hotel Shilla in Seoul, Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming said, “Shandong Province is the most active region for logistics activities in China. Accordingly, the province is in a leading position in expanding and accelerating business and economic cooperation between Korea a
By Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol attended the 44th anniversary memorial service for former President Park Chung-hee along with former President Park Geun-hye at the National Cemetery in Seoul on Oct. 26 The memorial service for former President Park has been held annually since 1980, organized by the National Revival Association, and this is the first time a sitting president has attended the memorial service. Former President Park Chung-hee's eldest daughter, Park Geun-hye, also attended the memorial service, adding to its significance. The memorial service began with an opening speec
By Lee Kap-soo President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is on a state visit to Qatar at the invitation of the Emir of Qatar, held a meeting with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha, Qatar on October 25. Prior to the meeting, an official welcome ceremony was held in the main hall of Amiri Diwan Palace to celebrate President Yoon's state visit. The Qatari side escorted the President's vehicle as it entered the Amiri Diwan Palace entrance, accompanied by mounted and camel troops. The President was received by His Highness Emir Tamim in the concourse of Amiri Diwan Palace, where he was escorted by th
By Kim Ji-eun | Foreign Minister Park Jin visited the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the U.S. 5th Fleet, which arrived at Naval Base in Busan to mark the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-ROK alliance, to learn about the current status of U.S.-ROK cooperation to strengthen the joint defense posture on Oct. 15. Minister Park was guided by Fifth Fleet Commander Pat Hannifin and Commander Daryle Cardone, and received a detailed briefing on the carrier's operations, including the hangar, flight deck, and control tower. "The U.S.-ROK relationship, which celebrated its
By Kim Ji-eun First Lady Kim Keon-hee held a meeting with members of the Korean Women's Association in Japan at the Yongsan Presidential Office on Oct. 11. The organization members met with the former President Park Geun-hye in 2014, and Mrs. Kim encouraged them to continue their work and asked them to play a role in revitalizing inter-Korean exchanges. Founded in 1949, the Korean Women's Association in Japan is an organization of Korean women living in Japan, with a total of more than 100,000 members at its central headquarters and 44 local chapters. "As a daughter of the Republic of Korea an
By Lee Jon-young This article was contributed by Daejeon Police Chief Chung Yong-geun to the Diplomacy Journal….Ed. A 'red light' has been raised on the mental health of our society. As of 2019, there were 3.16 million people with mental illnesses in Korea, excluding dementia, an increase of 22% in five years. The National Mental Health Status Report (2021) estimated the socioeconomic cost of mental illness at 11.3 trillion won, which is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 10%. On the other hand, the medical infrastructure for systematic management of the mentally ill is deterior
By Lee Kap-soo The Gyengsangnam-do (Gyeongnam) Delegation for International Cooperation in Aerospace, headed by Governor Park Wan-soo, visited NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, USA, on Oct. 6 (local time). Goddard Space Flight Center was established in 1959 and conducts space observations including the Earth and the solar system, and is the largest research organization and the first space center in the United States composed of scientists and engineers. It is especially famous for serving as the ground control center for the Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched in 1990, an
By Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol received a delegation of U.S. Senators, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who are visiting South Korea, and exchanged views on bilateral relations, including the U.S.-ROK alliance and economic cooperation, as well as key regional and international issues on the afternoon of October 11. The President welcomed the U.S. Senate delegation to South Korea and expressed his hope that their visit will serve as an opportunity to reaffirm the stronger-than-ever ROK-U.S. alliance and bilateral economic cooperation. The President also emphasized that
By Kayla Lee The Gyeongsangnam-do (Gyeongnam) delegation, headed by Governor Park Wan-soo, attended the 'Korean American-Gyeongnam Businessmen's Meeting' in Orange County, California, U.S.A., together with the Korean American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County, U.S.A., for friendly exchanges with Korean businessmen on Oct. 9. The meeting was attended by 25 people, including Gyeongsangnam-do Governor Park Wan-soo, Gyeongnam Chamber of Commerce Federation President Koo Ja-cheon, Orange County Korean Chamber of Commerce President Noh Sang-il, and World Korean Business Congress Co-Chairman Yoon
By Kim Ji-eun Namwon City, Jeollabuk-do, announced on Oct. 10 that the '2023 Namwon World Drone Festival' held at the Namwon Sports Center concluded a successful four-day schedule. The 2023 Namwon World Drone Festival, which was held under the theme of 'A global world united by drones,' consisted of a drone leisure sports competition and a drone industry fair. During the festival, experience programs such as flight simulators, drone piloting, and aeronautical rocket production, where visitors can meet and experience drones, received the greatest response, and drone sports such as drone racing,
By Lee Kap-soo The following article was provided by the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Seoul to Diplomacy Journal. —Ed. The 25th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is scheduled for October 16-20 this year in Samarkand. For the first time in history, Uzbekistan will host this important biennial gathering of member states and affiliate members of UNWTO. The event will bring together heads of government agencies, representatives of the tourism industry, and international business corporations engaged in the sector from around 159 countries. Heads o
By Lee Jon-young Korede Islam, an Islamic organization in Korea, held a rally near Gwanghwamun in Seoul, and some 50-odd Palestine people and Koreans staged a street march on Oct. 11. The rally was organized to call for solidarity with the Palestinians and to clarify the legitimacy of the Palestine airstrikes against Israel, the organization said. The rally posters read, "Israel must stop bombing Gaza," "Palestinian resistance against Israel is justified," and "Solidarity with Palestine!" among others.
By Lee Jon-young October 28, 2023 will be the 78th Corrections Day. It is a statutory anniversary commemorating the reclaiming of correctional work from the Japanese Empire and the start of independent correctional administration, and is a day to encourage the hard work of correctional officials and others involved in correction and to recognize the true meaning of correction. On the occasion of the 78th Corrections Day, the Diplomacy Journal held an exclusive interview with Kim Dong-hyun, the head of the Gwangju Regional Correctional Service, about the meaning of corrections and the way forwa
By Lee Kap-soo President Yoon Suk-yeol received ministerial delegations from six Caribbean countries who are in South Korea to attend the 13th Korea-Caribbean High Level Forum on Oct. 10. The President said that although Korea and the countries of the Caribbean region are geographically far apart, they have shared the universal values of freedom, human rights, and the rule of law, and are longtime friends who will share the future journey together. The President and his counterparts from the six Caribbean countries noted that the Korea-Caribbean High-level Forum, which has been held every year
By Lee Jon-young Gyeonggi-do Governor Kim Dong-yeon met with a number of foreign dignitaries who have traveled to Korea to attend the 8th Asia-Pacific Cities Forum to discuss cooperation with Gyeonggi-do. On the afternoon of Oct. 24, Governor Kim met with Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Secretary-General of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), an organization of the United Nations (UN), at the Gyeonggi-do Government Office. "Gyeonggi-do is the most active local government in responding to climate change, and the role of businesses is very important in this," he said