By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Seoul City Mayor Oh Se-hoon met with Tian Xiangli, Chairwoman of the Sichuan Provincial Committee, China at the Mayor's Office in Seoul City Hall to discuss ways to revitalize exchanges between Seoul and Sichuan on July 15. Mrs. Tian Xiangli is a ministerial-level official of Sichuan Province. Seoul and Sichuan are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their friendship this year, and have been engaged in steady exchanges and cooperation, including a visit by Sichuan Governor Yin Li (now Party Secretary of Beijing). During the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Seoul City don
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo A delegation from Icheon City, led by Mayor Kim Kyung-hee, paid an official visit to its sister city, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. Santa Fe established a sister city relationship with Icheon in 2013, and the city sent a delegation to the 38th Icheon Ceramics Festival in April and officially invited Icheon to participate. The Icheon City delegation held a meeting with Santa Fe Mayor Alan Weber on the morning of July 11. They discussed future-oriented exchanges between the two cities and attended the opening event of the International Folk Art Market (IFAM), a repr
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol met with Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg on July 11 and exchanged views on major international issues and Korea-NATO cooperation. The President noted that the partnership between South Korea and NATO has progressed by leaps and bounds during Stoltenberg's tenure (2014-2024), including the establishment of the NATO-ROK Individualized Tailored Partnership Program (ITPP), and expressed his appreciation for the Secretary General's contributions to the development of the NATO-ROK relations
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in Washington, D.C., for the NATO Summit, attended the NATO Indo-Pacific Partners (IP4) (South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand) Summit on July 11. Hosted by New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, this is the third IP4 Summit, following the 2022 and 2023 meetings, and was joined by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles. The leaders recognized the close cooperation among the four countries, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, which share common values
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The World Peace Art Exhibition Organizing Committee announced that a total of 1,193 artworks were submitted for the 27th World Peace Art Exhibition during the application period of July 5 to 10. Various artists participated in the exhibition and presented their works with messages related to peace. The exhibition will be held from August 21 to August 26 at a special hall in the basement of the Maru Art Center in Insa-dong, Seoul. The exhibition will bring together the submitted works to convey to visitors the importance of peace and the beauty of art at the same
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden adopted a "Joint Statement on Guidelines for Nuclear Operations for Nuclear Deterrence on the Korean Peninsula" during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 11 (local time). "The two leaders reaffirmed that any North Korean nuclear attack on the Republic of Korea will be met with an immediate, overwhelming and decisive response," Kim Tae-hyo, deputy director of the National Security Office, said in a briefin
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo LG Electronics has been honored at the Volkswagen Group Award 2024, which took place in Wolfsburg, Germany, on July 2. LG was recognized by the Volkswagen Group, one of the world’s premier automakers, in the ‘Partnership’ category for its outstanding development, manufacture and supply chain management of mobility technologies and solutions, including in-vehicle infotainment systems and connectivity products. The award highlights LG’s unwavering commitment to excellence and points to its growing reputation in the automotive sector as a trusted partner and innov
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee A solo exhibition by artist Jeon Byung-hee will be held on the 5th floor of Insa Art Plaza (Lefranc) in Insadong, Seoul from July 10 to 23. In this exhibition, Jeon has developed a technique called "petal touch three-dimensional oil painting technique," in which the artist sculpts petals with paint as if embroidering the emotions felt in her heart, and expresses her wishes for happiness as petals on the tip of her brush. I work in a way that feels a little unfinished because I want the viewers to fill in the gaps in their minds. It is a work that is completed by
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young "Mercy in the heart, peace in the world!" This is the theme of the 2019 Buddha’s birthday celebration in the year of the Buddha, 2563! However, in recent years, we have witnessed many conflicts and instability around the world. Conflicts between nations, racial tensions, mistrust in politics, economic inequality, and many other issues have disrupted our daily lives. In the midst of this turmoil, the values of peace and mercy are more important than ever. The need for peace Conflict around the world is not just a localized problem. The modern world is globaliz
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Hanbok Goodday, led by CEO & Hanbok designer Kim Kwang-ja, joined senior Hanbok (Korean traditional dress) models for a photo shoot in Gyeongju in the first week of July. The photo shoot was held to celebrate Gyeongju's selection as the host of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit and to promote Gyeongju as a Hanbok ambassador. On June 27, Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, was selected as the host city for the 32nd APEC Summit in 2025, which will be attended by leaders from 21 countries. The 2025 APEC Summit, which will be held 20 years after
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol visited the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii on July 9. This is the first time a Korean president has visited the command, with former President Kim Young-sam having visited the Pacific Command in 1995. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has the largest area of responsibility (approximately 100 million square miles, or 52 percent of the Earth's total area) among the six U.S. unified combatant commands (Northern, Southern, Indo-Pacific, European, Central, and African) and plays a critical role in the security of the Korean Peninsula, incl
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee visited the Pacific National Cemetery in Honolulu, Hawaii, on July 8. The cemetery was established in 1949 and is home to veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Upon arriving at the cemetery, the President and First Lady were led by James Horton, Director of the Pacific National Cemetery, to lay a wreath and honor the U.S. veterans interred at the cemetery. After laying a wreath, they greeted and thanked the six Korean War veterans in attendance. The President and First Lady then visi
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young Director Han Myung-ku questions the movie industry and society with his unique perspective on social issues. His next movie, 'Geojedo POW Camp,' is in full production as the set site has been finalized. Han, who won the Best Director award at the Indian International Film Festival for his film "The Silence of One’s Lover," will direct "Geojedo POW Camp," a dramatic film with a total budget of 75 billion won, which is scheduled for release in 2025. The executive producer will be Kim In-sik, chairman of the steering committee of the Korea Association of Film Pr
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee If Wittgenstein, a master of modern philosophy, once said, "The ultimate goal of philosophy is to show the fly the way out of the bottle," then the ultimate goal of art would be described as "to make the fly in the bottle dance, sing, and dream, so that it can overcome the gravity of reality." In other words, art, with its unique imagination and creativity, is the pursuit of self-reflection, which includes not only philosophy but also the so-called literary periods of literature, history, and the humanities, and should be aimed at eternity while seeing the limits
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo From a Small Family Factory to the Largest Production Facility in the Region: Andrey Shin and His Ice Cream Andrey Shin is a man who turned a small family business into the largest ice cream production company in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. How did he achieve this? It All Started with "Bomb" Shin-Line, a prominent company in Kazakhstan, is a recipient of numerous awards and part of the "Competitiveness Leaders - National Champions" program. The company's primary focus is ice cream production, accounting for 77% of its total output. Shin-Line also produces milk