By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo

 

Venerable Chief Monk Hyangdeok (Park Seong-eok in Korean name) of the Cheonmansa Buddhist Temple in Ulsan is striving to promote world peace and cultural exchanges between Korea and foreign countries while attending major cultural events with foreign ambassadors in Korea.

Ven. Chief Monk Hyangdeok, who is honorary consular of culture and economy of the Embassy of Ethiopia and UN NGO World Peace Ambassador, always prays for good luck and good health for all people he met, including foreign ambassadors, staff members of foreign embassies and their family members in Korea.

 

For all of such voluntary leadership, Ven. Chief Monk Hyangdeok received a Voluntary Service Award from Joe Biden, President of the United States of America in 2021.

He also received an honorary citizenship from Carson City, California in the U.S. on July 12, 2021.

 

So far this year, Ven. Chief Monk Hyangdeok participated in the three major Korean festivals –Namwon World Drone Festival, Cheonan World Dance Festival and Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival -- along with foreign ambassadors, senior diplomats and their spouses.

 

The 2023 Namwon Drone Festival was attended by many important personalities from around the world as well as from within Korea.

 

 

In particular, the Festival was attended by a number of the members of the Seoul Diplomatic Corps who enthusiastically took the trouble to come all the way down to the Namwon City, braving the trouble of travelling four hours from Seoul to Namwon.

 

They included Ambassador and Mrs. Ali M. Magashi of the Republic of Nigeria and Charge d’Affaires Mrs. Agnes Mbayo of Sierra Leone.

 

 

The Cheonan Heungtaryeong Festival was held for five days, starting with the opening ceremony on October 5 last year and ending with the closing ceremony on October 9.

It was organized by the Cheonan Cultural Foundation, an organization established by Cheonan City, Chungcheongnam-do, and held at the Cheonan Sports Complex as a cultural and tourism festival.

 

 

The Cheonan Heungtaryeong Festival offered visitors exciting experiences and memories with exciting attractions such as a huge parade through the center of the city and an international dance competition where visitors could watch dances from all over the world in one place.

 

Ambassadors and other senior members of the Seoul Diplomatic Corps, totaling 50 in number, had a very rare experience of angling mountain trouts from under the frozen surface of the river in the Hwacheon County of the Gangwon Province in Korea during the period from Jan. 6 through Jan. 28. 

 

 

Among those who attended the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival were Ambassadors Kirom Salohiddin of Tajikistan, Songkane Luangmuninthon of the Lao PDR, Paul Duclos of Peru, Juan Manuel Medina of Costa Rica, Andrew Chernetsky of Belarus, and Ambassador Mohammed Bensabri of Algeria.

 

There also were senior diplomats with their spouses from the Philippines, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ethiopia, and Iraq.

 

 

The participants had their fill of excitement and pleasure angling the mountain trouts right from under the frozen surface of the river each with a small fishing rod.

 

Located some 55.4 miles north east of Seoul, the Hwacheon County has a population of some 40,000 persons, including the military personnel and their dependents stationed in the region which borders on North Korea.

 

 

Meanwhile, Amb. Dessie Dalkie of Ethiopia in Seoul handed over a plaque of appreciation to Chief Monk Hyangdeok on Feb. 17, 2023 for his strenuous efforts to promote cultural and economic cooperation between Korea and Ethiopia. 

Chief Monk Park Seung-ok is also honorary consular of culture and economy of the Embassy of Ethiopia and U.N. NGO World Peace Ambassador.

Venerable Chief Abbot Hyangdeok also received a Voluntary Service Medal from Joe Biden, President of the United States of America.

The medal was presented in a ceremony hosted by Korea Nobel Foundation at the Center Mark Hotel in Seoul on Jan. 19, 2022.

The citation is known to be awarded only to American citizens. However, Ven. Hyangdeok received this citation as an honorary citizen of California, and Secretary-General Yoo Jae-ki of the Korea Nobel Foundation delivered it directly to Ven. Hyangdeok at the ceremony.