By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo

Gwangju Metropolitan City Mayor Kang Ki-jeong met with Israeli Ambassador to Korea Rafael Harpaz at the reception room of the city hall on Nov. 28 to discuss 'exchange and cooperation plans between Gwangju and Israel'.
 

“I would like to thank Israel for organizing the Gwangju Biennale Pavilion exhibition this year following last year,” Mayor Kang said, adding, ”I hope that various exchanges between the two countries will continue through culture.”

Israeli Ambassador to Korea Rafael Harpaz said, “Israel is leading the world in the field of startups and AI, and Gwangju is also fostering high-tech industries such as AI and future cars. I hope that exchanges will begin in various fields such as culture and art as well as high technology.” 

“I could feel the warmth of Gwangju and its people, and I could see that Gwangju is a very great city, including the May 18 Democratization Movement,” Ambassador Harfaz said of his visit. 

Prior to the meeting, Ambassador Harfaz visited the National May 18 Democracy Cemetery, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), the National Asian Culture Center, and the Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall.

Mayor Kang pledged to continue exchanges between Gwangju and Israel in the future and presented a copy of Nobel Prize winner Han Kang's book “A Boy Comes.

Meanwhile, Israel's CDA Holon is running the Gwangju Biennale Pavilion at the Miro Center in Dong-gu, Gwangju, from Sept. 7 to Dec. 1 with the theme of “How are we made?