KOREA BULLETIN The official publication of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea
FROM
THE
APRIL 2018
AMBASSADOR‘S
DESK
HAN Dong-man, Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary
Before anything else, I would like to greet all readers of the Korea Bulletin, and I hope to share with you my take on recent events in Korea-Philippine relations. I am proud to report that the recently concluded Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in PyeongChang was a resounding success. A record-breaking 2,925 athletes from 92 countries – including two athletes from the Philippines – participated in the Winter Olympics to compete for 102 medals in 15 sports events. And even before the opening of the Games on February 9th, around 7,500 runners already joined the 101-day Olympic Torch Relay. Korea has thus become the world’s eighth country to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics after the U.S., Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Canada. It joins France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Russia as the sixth country to host the FIFA World Cup, World Championships in Athletics, and the Summer and Winter Olympics. The PyeongChang Winter Olympics has also been hailed as the “most tech-centric Olympics ever.” The organizers
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exerted great effort to provide all visitors a total “ICT Experience” by showcasing 5G wireless networks, AI translation robots, and self-driving buses. 5G wireless connectivity is considered as cellular network’s next generation, which Korea expects to launch globally by 2020. More importantly, the PyeongChang Olympics lived up to its vision of being a vehicle for international peace with the participation of a North Korean delegation – including the attendance of Kim Yo-jong, younger sister of Kim Jungun, the North Korean leader. Indeed, the Games provided a rare opportunity for cross-border reconciliation and has led to further talks between the two Koreas. Since then, special envoys of President Moon Jae-in visited North Korea on March 5 to relay President Moon’s hopes for nuclear disarmament and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. For his part, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed his desire to “write a new history of national reunification” and looked forward to a summit between the North and the South. In preparation for the sum-
mit, the first in more than a decade, which is scheduled to take place on April 27 on the South Korean side of the joint security area (JSA), also known as Panmunjom, officials of both Koreas held meetings on March 29, April 5 and 7 at the proposed venue for the summit. The summit carries with it spring’s promise of new beginnings. I hope our Filipino friends share this optimism. After all, with a deep history of partnership and cooperation between Korea and the Philippines, regional peace is evidently a common aspiration. In fact, our two countries have shared experiences that reinforce the long history of friendship between our peoples. One of the latest examples of such close relationship is when the Korean government donated $200,000 in support of relief operations by the Philippine National Red Cross (PRC) in Albay, Bicol province, where the recent activity of Mayon Volcano wreaked havoc on. PRC Chairman Richard Gordon, in appreciation of the Korean Embassy’s continuous support of easing the suffering of vulnerable communities, said that “This timely donation will not only augment the
Philippines-Korea Investment Forum on Infrastructure and Energy held
Kepco to hire 5,000 workers for coal power-plant project
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Korea Provides P10M Aid for Mayon Victims Ambassador HAN Graces SFA Semicon Phase 2 Facility Opening
KOREA BULLETIN
PRC’s capacity but is also a great contribution in providing hope to thousands of families affected by Mayon’s volcanic activities.” Another demonstration of this special link between Korea and the Philippines is the vibrant people-to-people exchange. Even as Koreans continue to occupy the top spot among sources foreign visitors to the Philippines, with some 1.6 million tourist arrivals last year, I hope to see this number rise to 2 million. It may be springtime in Korea but here in the Philippines, we are already feeling the heat of summer. This may explain, to some extent, the rise in the number of Filipino applications for Korean visas. Spring is certainly one of the best seasons to visit Korea. Its wonderfully cool weather, with blooming flowers transforming icy landscapes into picturesque gardens, offers a welcome respite for Filipinos wishing to escape the tropical heat With the onset of summer, I hope that the sunny disposition of Filipinos will continue to outshine the harshness of the heat and that relations between Filipinos and Koreans will always be filled with warmth.
New Additional Visa Requirement for First Time Korea Travelers Traditional Korean Liquors on Exhibit at KCC
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