By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee 

Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul, who is in Australia to attend the sixth ROK-Australia Foreign and Defense Ministers’ (2+2) Meeting, had a tea time with students from the Korean Language Teacher Training Course in the University of Melbourne along with Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong on May 1. 

Minister Cho discussed the beauty of the Korean literature and recited “To My Illness” by the late poet Cho Jihoon in both Korean and English.

Prior to the event, Minister Cho and Minister Wong spent time deepening their friendship by walking together to the event venue after the ROK-Australia Foreign and Defense Ministers’ (2+2) Meeting.

During the event, Minister Wong expressed pleasure at hosting Minister Cho and stated that she was delighted to have the opportunity to commemorate the rich people-to-people and cultural exchanges between Korea and Australia with students from the Korean Language Teacher Training Course in the University of Melbourne, where the Korean language department will be newly established in July.  

Minister Cho encouraged the students who took a step further in their studies and aspired to become Korean language teachers despite the difficulty of learning Korean. He recited the poem “To My Illness” by the late poet Cho Jihoon, who is his father, in both Korean and English, allowing the attendees to experience the beauty of Korean language and literature, as well as the deep affection among family members.

The Korean and Australian foreign ministers spent a total of seven hours together on Wednesday, May 1, participating in the bilateral foreign ministers’ meeting and the Foreign and Defense Ministers’ (2+2) meeting, followed by a social event. During this time, they engaged in in-depth communication covering a wide range of topics, including the foreign policies of both countries, issues in bilateral cooperation, major international affairs, and the deep people-to-people and cultural ties between the two nations.

This exchange was a valuable opportunity to further solidify the partnership between the two countries as leading like-minded nations in the region.