By Lee Kap-soo “Cambodia is one of the best investment destinations due to its open economy, competitive incentives. Our new investment law was also introduced and within eight months of 2023, Cambodia approved 125 investment projects with the investment of some $1.74 billion and creating 153,997 jobs,” said H.E Amb. Chring Botumrangsay of Cambodia to Korea on Nov. 2. Delivering welcoming remarks on the occasion of the 70th Independence Day of Cambodia and the 26th anniversary of Cambodia-ROK diplomatic relations held at Conrad Hotel Seoul, Amb. Chring said, “In terms of trade, Cambodia's expo
By Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol hosted a luncheon for U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is visiting South Korea, at the presidential office on Nov. 9. "Over the past year and a half, the U.S.-ROK global comprehensive strategic alliance has been firmly established, and Secretary Blinken has played a great role in this process," the president said, welcoming him to the country. "As an ally of the United States, South Korea will work closely with the United States to defend its core values and strengthen the rules-based international order," the president said, noting that the
By Lee Jon-young Daejeon Police Chief Chung Yong-geun recently applied for honorary retirement, raising questions about his future. On October 10, it was confirmed that he applied for retirement with one and a half years left until his retirement age. There are analysts who believe that Commissioner Chung's application for retirement with one and a half years to go is a pavement for him to enter the political arena after retirement, and the possibility of his entering the political arena is increasing. "I plan to return to my hometown and serve the community, but I haven't decided what form it
By Lee Kap-soo Kim Kyong-hae, CEO of Communications Korea, has published a book on public relations (PR) titled, 'Dream and success of a PR Person'. The author, Kim Kyong-hae, is considered a pioneer in the Korean PR industry, combining practice and theory. As the person who elevated 'PR' to an 'industry' in Korea, Kim led the development of the Korean PR industry while serving as the chairman of the Korea PR Association (KPRA) and the chairman of the Korea Public Relations Consultancy Association (KPRCA). He also served as a reporter for The Korea Herald and Korea correspondent for Reuters be
By Kim Ji-eun President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit with visiting Estonian President Alar Karis and exchanged views on the development of bilateral relations, ways to strengthen practical cooperation, and trends in the international situation on Oct. 12. President Yoon praised the active cooperation between Korea and Estonia, two IT powerhouses, in areas such as cybersecurity and e-government, and expressed his hope that cooperation will expand to various fields such as R&D and defense. President Karis responded that he hopes to expand cooperation, especially in the areas of defense and di
By Kayla Lee A delegation of the Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Assembly visited the Vientiane Provincial Government Office in Laos and signed a friendship exchange agreement for friendship and mutual cooperation on Nov. 2. The signing took place at the Vientiane Provincial Government Office Building in Vientiane, Laos, where 11 members of the Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly, including Speaker Kim Jin-bu, visited the government building on behalf of the Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly. This event was proposed at a meeting with the Vientiane Provincial Assembly during the Parliamentary Steering Commit
By Lee Kap-soo First Lady Kim Keon-hee met with the Honorable Laura Mattarella, who is on a state visit to South Korea with her father, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, at the Yongsan Presidential Office on Nov. 8. Mrs. Kim discussed a variety of topics with Laura, including culture and art, fashion, design, and cuisine, and expressed her hope that "creative and meaningful cultural events will be organized on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Italy next year." "Korea and Italy have a lot in common culturally and emotionally," Kim said, adding t
By Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who is on a state visit to Korea, on Nov. 8 and exchanged views on ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of industry, space, and high technology, as well as key international and regional issues. The two leaders praised the steady development of friendly and cooperative relations in various fields between the two countries, which share the universal values of freedom, human rights and the rule of law, and decided to take bilateral relations to a new level next year on the occasion
By Lee Jon-young The following article was contributed by Lee Chil-yong, former expert member of the Cultural Heritage Administration to the Diplomacy Journal. –Ed. Buddhist woodcarver Huh Gil-ryang was born in 1953 in Seungju-gun, Jeollanam-do, and learned the basics of woodcarving from teacher Seo Soo-yeon in 1968 at the age of 15, and learned Buddhist painting from teacher Lee In-ho in 1975 at the age of 22. He was absorbed in Buddhist art at an early age and has been working with Buddhist woodcarving for his entire life. He won the grand prize at the 1977 Buddhist Art Exhibition and was ap
By Kayla Lee Expressing pure beauty in his uniquely structured works, artist Kim Sejoong draws the viewers deep into a magical time in a single space that allows them to see things in a new light and make them look amazing. The thousands and tens of thousands of hours of perseverance they have put in have not been in vain. This is the beauty that reborn European art forms and awakened the sense of art in the East. It will be a fantastic time to open the eyes and minds of the viewers with the reorganization of space and the illumination of vision, guiding them to a new world. Looking at Artist
By Lee Kap-soo “India is organizing the vibrant Gujarat 2024, when India is going to celebrate its 100th year of independence in 2047,” said Ashwini Kumar, principal secretary of the Urban Development & Urban Housing Department, the Government of Gujarat in India. Delivering the Gujarat presentation held at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Nov. 7, Ashwini Kumar said, “India is the world's 5th largest economy with the largest working age population, and she is a preferred investment destination. India has consistently outpaced the global GDP growth and is poised to become the third largest economy o
By Lee Kap-soo Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, who is visiting Japan, participated in the 7th Korea-Japan Governors' Meeting, adding his voice to the call for better relations between the two countries through exchanges and cooperation between local governments. Incheon Metropolitan City announced that Mayor Yoo participated in the "7th Korea-Japan Governors' Meeting" between the Korea Council of Metropolitan Governors and the Japan National Governors' Association on November 1 in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. Mayor Yoo attended the meeting as the vice chairman of the Korea Council of Metropolitan
By Lee Kap-soo The following article was contributed by the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Seoul to the Diplomacy Journal.--Ed. For the first time in history, in the capital of Uzbekistan will take place a summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization. The summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) will be held in Tashkent on 8-9 November. Our country has been a member of the organization since November 1992, but this is the first time in the history of independent Uzbekistan and this association that a multilateral summit within the framework of the ECO is being held on Uzbek soil. The
By Lee Jon-young Sweden, a Nordic welfare state, has agreed to learn about the special autonomy initiated by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and expand exchanges between the two regions. Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Governor Oh Young-hoon met with Swedish parliamentarians, including Erik Ottoson, vice chairman of the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Swedish Parliament, and Daniel Wolven, Swedish ambassador to the Republic of Korea. The delegation consisted of 10 members of the Swedish Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee came to Jeju to learn about the special auto
By Lee Jon-young The 'King's Road', which was buried in a railroad track during the Japanese occupation, has been restored after more than 100 years. The Cultural Heritage Administration held a ceremony to commemorate the 'Restoration of Gwanghwamun weoldae (stylobate) and plaque' in front of Gwanghwamun Gate at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul on Oct. 15. With the restoration of Gwanghwamun's plaque and stylobate, Gyeongbokgung Palace and Gwanghwamun, which were demolished and damaged during the Japanese occupation, have regained their historicity, place, and symbolism after more than 100 years.