By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Park Jang-ho, Director-General for Diplomatic Intelligence, and Brett Holmgren, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research, signed the “Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Bureau of Diplomatic Intelligence (BDI), and the United States Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) concerning Analytic Intelligence Cooperation” in Washington, D.C., the United States on June 24, 2024. The diplomatic authorities of the ROK and the U.S. have shared a common understandi
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee K-POP fans around the world will pay attention to ‘BlingOne’, the first K-POP Peruvian girl group selected in the Peruvian season of the global K-pop audition ‘Click the Star’, makes its official debut. For their first performance, they will participate in the recording of ENA Channel's 'K-Pop Up Chart Show' music broadcast on June 26, and perform their debut song 'Kiss & Call'. 'Click the Star' is a global K-POP audition project hosted by the World K-Pop Center. It is a program that selects national representatives from 32 countries around the world and trai
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Seoul City Mayor Oh Se-hoon met with Xin Changxing, Party Secretary of Jiangsu Province of China, at the main building of Seoul City Hall to discuss friendly exchanges and cooperation between Seoul and Jiangsu Province on June 20. Elected in January 2023, Xin Changxing is a member of the 20th CPC Central Committee, the highest leadership body of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC), with voting rights in the 205-member CPC Central Committee, and the number one person in Jiangsu Province. The meeting was organized to discuss ways to revitalize friendly exchanges betw
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee World-renowned vocalist Kim Dong-kyu attended the 77th anniversary 'Your Voice Open My Heart' love concert at Jamwon-dong Cathedral Archdiocese in Jamwon-dong, Seoul on June 15, and sang famous songs with the voice of God, receiving a standing ovation and great praise from the audience. "Music is a common language," said Father Lee Kang-koo (Marco), pastor of Seoul's Jamwon-dong Cathedral. "Playing and singing beautiful melodies unites people across borders, generations, and cultures, and has a synergistic effect that unites us all in love," he said. "The reason
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The “Korea-Africa Key Minerals Dialogue” will be launched to strengthen global supply chain cooperation between Korea and Africa. In addition, they will jointly endeavor to ensure the stable supply of key minerals and promote technical cooperation related to key minerals based on mutual agreement. President Yoon Suk-yeol signed the joint declaration with the heads of state or government of 48 African countries at the Korea-Africa Summit held in Gyeonggi Province on June 4. Africa holds 30 percent of the world's mineral resources, including key raw materials for t
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul met with visiting International Crisis Group on May 28 and exchanged views on the importance of the Global South, which encompasses developing countries in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia, as well as cooperation measures, the international situation, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. As the strategic position of the Global South is strengthening under the geopolitical transformation, including the intensifying U.S.-China strategic competition, the war in Ukraine, and the crisis i
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Seoul City Mayor Oh Se-hoon attended the opening ceremony of the Seoul World City Culture Festival 2024 (Seoul Friendship Festival), held at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on May 24, 2024. The event began with an opening speech by Mayor Oh Se-hoon, followed by a congratulatory speech by Ambassador Abdulla Saif Alnuaimi of UAE to Korea. This year's festival was held from May 24 to 26 at Gwanghwamun Square, Cheonggye Plaza, and Cheonggyero, under the theme of “Seoul and the World Together through Culture.” The stage was decorated as a global festival where people coul
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee President Yoon Suk-yeol accepted Letters of Credence from two resident Ambassadors-Designate and thirteen non-resident Ambassadors-Designate to the Republic of Korea at the Presidential Office on May 21, 2024. The fifteen Ambassadors-Designate are: H.E. Tanee Sangrat from the Kingdom of Thailand, H.E. Mizushima Koichi from Japan, H.E. Jacques Jean Luc Nyanga from the Republic of Congo, H.E. Menzie Sipho Dlamini from the Kingdom of Eswatini, H.E. Stefán Haukur Jóhannesson from Iceland, H.E. Pick Fung Chong from the Republic of Suriname, H.E. Marie Roland Alain Won
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Pinocchio sits on a green couch deep in the forest. He is gazing at the distant sky with a slight smile on his face. Perhaps he's remembering a pleasant memory. A soft melody seems to be coming from the speaker of a phonometer poking its head into the forest across the street. The whole forest is filled with a clean energy. Pinocchio looks like an adult. He looks childlike and wary. He enjoys the infinite delusions of his imagination with his delicate wings, which are not yet strong enough to fly. The messengers of his excitement are a couple of lovebirds. Health
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 toge
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Defense Minister Shin Won-sik held the 6th Korea-Australia Foreign Affairs and Defense (2+2) Ministerial Meeting with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Melbourne, Australia on May 1. They exchanged in-depth views on the Korean Peninsula and regional affairs. Following the meeting, the ministers held a joint press conference and adopted a joint statement as the outcome document of the meeting. This was the first 2+2 ministerial meeting held since the inauguration
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Folk painting is a composite art, and the fact that all Korean crafts always have folk-like paintings on them allows us to speculate on the function of Korean folk paintings. In other words, folk paintings are not just decorations on celadon, white porcelain, cabinets, pencil cases, and many other crafts, but they are an important folk painting element without which a work of art would be lifeless. Folk paintings, which are the most obvious manifestation of the Korean people's sense of aesthetics and sculpture, have been one of the most important elements of Kore
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee President Yoon Suk-yeol received the credentials of nine new foreign ambassadors to South Korea at a ceremony held at the presidential office on April 26. The nine ambassadors-designate are: H.E. Jacques Flies from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, H.E. Georgiy Zinoviev from the Russian Federation, H.E. Jeffrey David Robinson from Australia, H.E. Marek Repovský from the Slovak Republic, H.E. Petar Kraytchev from the Republic of Bulgaria, H.E. Vu Ho from the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, H.E. Emmy Jerono Kipsoi from the Republic of Kenya, H.E. Jorge Enrique Valerio
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Itchy, painful skin conditions can be a daily struggle, and there are more than two million people in Korea alone who suffer from them. From atopic dermatitis to intractable skin and regressive dermatosis, why do these skin diseases occur and why are they so difficult to cure? If you look around you, you can easily find people who have been living with skin diseases for 10, 20, or 50 years. A common misconception is that skin diseases are contagious. However, only some skin diseases are contagious, such as pathogenic microorganisms, but the vast majority are not.
By Lee Chil-yong, Chairman of Diplomacy Journal and President of Modern Imperial Craft Culture Association Geumtae lacquerware is a craft that is completed by applying lacquer to metal materials, and it refers to Korean lacquerware, a unique cultural heritage that is mainly used in temples to prevent rust, such as tea utensils (braziers, kettles, teacups, etc.), as well as decorations and fittings. Geumtaechil master Kim Jeong-joong's workshop is located in a nondescript house on the side of a sloping road in Choeup-dong, Jingu-gu, Busan. His workshop is also a place of great historical signif