By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Mayor Yoo Jung-bok of the Incheon Metropolitan City received the Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Korea Alisher Abdusalomov at Incheon City Hall on Feb. 24. The meeting was held at the request of the Uzbek ambassador to Korea and was organized to discuss exchange and cooperation between Incheon and Uzbekistan. At the meeting, Mayor Yoo said, “Incheon is strengthening various international cooperation to become a global top 10 city.” “We need cooperation in various fields such as economy, logistics, and culture between Incheon, which has the world's b
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on Feb. 24 that DAPA Minister Seok Jong-gun visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt from March 17 to 21 (local time) to expand defense exports. DAPA Minister Seok attended IDEX in the UAE, the largest defense exhibition in the Middle East and North Africa, where he met with senior defense officials from various countries. He met with key defense officials from the UAE to discuss ways for Korean defense companies to participate. In particular, at IDEX, Seok signed a Memorandum of Understand
Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon Young | Commemorating the 33rd anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Uzbekistan
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young To mark the successful journey as a global leap forward, the Al-Asa Forum focuses on investing in the present and predicting the future in line with the national direction. The forum sought to enrich and empower events to promote promising investment opportunities, forge strategic partnerships and alliances, and launch sustainable development projects. These initiatives highlight Al-Asa's resources, competitive advantages, and investment potential, and these efforts will undoubtedly promote regional prosperity and support the development journey in line with
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo "Turkmenistan has proclaimed 2025 as the International Year of Peace and Trust. This year, we also take pride in celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Turkmenistan's Permanent Neutrality," said Turkmen Ambassador to Korea Begench Durdyyev. Delivering a speech at a diplomatic briefing held at the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Seoul, on Feb. 20, Amb. Durdyyev said, "One of the recent major diplomatic milestones is the adoption of the UN resolution entitled "2025 - International Year of Peace and Trust." On March 21, 2024, during the 63rd plenary meeting of the 78th se
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee While attending the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul attended the 27th MIKTA (A grouping of Mexico, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Turkey and Australia)Foreign Ministers' Meeting on February 20 (local time), where he exchanged views with representatives of MIKTA member countries on how to cooperate with MIKTA in the current global situation, and introduced the direction of Korea's activities and priorities as the chair of MIKTA for the next one year. Minister Cho emphasized that amidst the escalating geopol
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, who is attending the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting (Feb. 20-21, Johannesburg, South Africa), held bilateral meetings with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy to exchange views on bilateral cooperation, cooperation on the international stage, and regional and international affairs on Feb. 20. During the meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Wong, Minister Cho evaluated the 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' (upgraded in December in 2021), which has been strengthened through continuou
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Korea and Japan held a lighting ceremony at Namsan Seoul Tower and Tokyo Tower on February 15, 2025, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries. At 6:30 PM on February 15, the lighting of Namsan Seoul Tower began, with the upper section illuminated in alternating red and blue - the colors representing the national flags of Korea and Japan. Meanwhile, the lower section featured a projection of the official 60th-anniversary logo, which was selected through a publi
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Twenty-six K-folk painting artists shared the beauty of traditional Korean folk paintings with the world at the Leonardo da Vinci Art Gallery invitational exhibition in Milano, Italy, from Feb. to 10. The exhibition was a great success, as the works that combine the originality of K-folk paintings with modern sensibilities attracted the attention of European art lovers. The K-folk painting artists invited to the exhibition presented works based on traditional folk painting techniques with a modern sense, proving the globalization potential of Korean folk painting
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania Ričardas Šlepavicius hosted a concert performed by the Čiurlionis Quartet of the National Philharmonic of Lithuania at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul on Feb. 17. The event was held on the occasion of the 107th Anniversary of the Restoration of the State of Lithuania and the 150th Anniversary of the Birth of the Lithuanian artist Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. Delivering a welcoming speech, Amb. Šlepavicius said, "Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis is a Lithuania painter, composer, public figure, father of Lithuanian nat
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee We interviewed Lee Mi-hyung, director of the K Folk Painting Research Center, to learn more about the value of K Folk Painting and its future prospects. We talked about how K-Folk Painting, which bridges tradition and modernity, is developing and its potential to spread globally. --Ed. Question: How is K-Folk Painting different from traditional folk painting? Answer: K-folk painting is a modernized version of traditional Korean folk painting. While traditional folk paintings are paintings that were naturally formed in the lives of common people during the Joseon
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The '2025 44th New Year Leadership Development Highest Course for Culture and Arts' hosted by the Korea Paper Culture Foundation-World Jongie Jupgi Organization (Chairwoman Rho Young-hye) was held at the Jongie Nara Museum in Jangchung-dong, Seoul on Feb. 10. The event was attended by more than 100 participants, including foundation executives, education directors, branch directors, and specially registered instructors for leadership training, who shared their vision for the globalization of Korea Jongie Jupgi (Paper folding). Delivering welcome speech, Chairwoma
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Korea Andrew Chernetsky delivered a lecture to high-school students at the 29th Diplomatic International Forum of Seoul organized by the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Korea (HOBY Korea) at the Hoseo University Seoul campus on February 15, 2025. In his lecture, the Ambassador paid the attention of the audience to current challenges and new prospects for cooperation between countries and regions against the backdrop of high volatility of international contacts and a rapidly changing world order. During his
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young The Republic of Korea is currently experiencing a major economic, political, and social crisis. Although each of us has been living our lives to the best of our abilities, the reason we are facing such a difficult situation is because we have lost our identity as "people." Who owns Korea? The people of Korea. But unfortunately, the true sense of “people” is disappearing in our society. This is because we belong to various organizations, but we have lost our identity as a people, which should be the most fundamental thing. Since the founding of Korea, our soci
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo The following article was contributed by the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Seoul to Diplomacy Journal for publication. --Ed. Kuwait formally recognized the independence of Uzbekistan on December 30, 1991, and in July 1994, two nations established diplomatic relations, affirming a shared commitment to fostering mutually beneficial and constructive partnership grounded in equality and respect for each other’s interests. The high-level reciprocal visits to Kuwait in 2004 and Uzbekistan in 2008, respectively, laid a solid foundation for the advancement of collaboration.