By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Nowon-gu, Seoul held an event for foreign ambassadors at Surakhyu Natural Recreation Forest on July 15, the district office announced. The event was attended by 12 foreign ambassadors from countries that participated in Nowon-gu's craft beer festival and coffee festival, as well as Nowon-gu Mayor Oh Seung-rok and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik. A Nowon-gu official explained, “The event was organized to provide external dignitaries with an opportunity to experience the facilities ahead of the official opening and to widely publicize the values and signific
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The Seoul government officially announced on July 16 that South Korea had been selected as the host country for the 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting scheduled to be held in July 2026. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jeong said in a briefing that day, “This decision is a result of the international community recognizing South Korea's leading role in the protection of world cultural heritage and international cultural cooperation.” This will be the first time that the UNESCO World Heritage Committee will be held in South Korea. Spokesperson Kang empha
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the Jeju Peace Institute, successfully hosted the “2025 East Asia Cooperation Forum” in Seoul on July 15. This year marks the fourth iteration of the forum, which was themed “Future Cooperation in East Asia Amidst a Changing World.” Approximately 300 participants, including private-sector experts from major countries in the region, representatives from international organizations, diplomatic missions, and forum supporters, attended the event. The East Asia Cooperation Forum is a Track 2 forum aimed at diagnos
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The Ministry of Foreign Affairs co-hosted a roundtable with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) on July 14 to promote and deepen discussions between the government and domestic experts in preparation for the 2025 World Emerging Security Forum (WESF), scheduled to be held on September 8, 2025. The World Emerging Security Forum has been organized annually by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2021 to actively contribute to the international community’s efforts to address emerging security threats, bringing together experts from governm
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Kim Ki-mun, chairman of Korea Federation of SMEs (KBIZ), met with Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Dai Bing, who visited the KBIZ in Yeouido, Seoul on July 14 and discussed ways to strengthen economic cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises in both countries. During the meeting, Kim Ki-mun said, “Since the inauguration of the Lee Jae-myung administration, relations between the two countries have changed positively, as evidenced by the telephone conversation between the leaders of South Korea and China.” Kim then mentioned the rapid increase in per
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream has been successfully inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The 47th session of the World Heritage Committee, which has been held in Paris, France from July 6 to 16, 2025, made the final decision to inscribe the Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream on the World Heritage List on July 12, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Following its inscription on the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in 2010, the Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream has finally come to fruition after 15 years. With this inscripti
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Busan City Mayor Park Hyung-joon met with U.S. Interim Ambassador to Korea Joseph Yun at the Westin Chosun Busan to discuss mutual exchange, cooperation, and development plans on July 9. Joseph Yun assumed the role of Acting Ambassador to South Korea in January following the inauguration of the Trump administration. He previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia and as Special Representative for North Korea Policy at the U.S. Department of State. At the meeting, Mayor Park said, “Under the vision of becoming a global hub city, Busan is fostering five key are
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee A grand exhibition titled “K-Folk Painting Artists Invitational Exhibition” will be held at the National Museum of Folk Art in Minsk, located in the capital of Belarus in Eastern Europe from October 27 to November 16. This exhibition is co-hosted by the Belarusian Ministry of Culture and the Diplomacy Journal, and co-organized by the Belarusian National Museum, the K-Folk Painting Research Institute, and the World Peace Art Exhibition Organizing Committee. It is expected to mark a new leap toward the globalization of K-Folk Painting. This exhibition is a large-sc
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The Preparatory Office for APEC 2025 held the First Advance Visit for 2025 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting for delegates from 20 APEC member economies from July 9 to July 10, 2025. The First Advance Visit was chaired by Senior Managing Director Kim Ji-Joon and attended by over 120 participants, including delegations from APEC member economies and officials from relevant authorities. Korea will host the 2025 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Gyeongju in the second half of 2025, marking 20 years since its last hosting of the event in Busan in 2005. On the first day,
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee KIPO (Korean Intellectual Property Office) Commissioner Kim Wan-ki held high-level talks with Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Mohammed bin Hassan Al-Malki at the Qatar Ministry of Commerce and Industry and signed a “Strategic Partnership Program on Establishing a National Intellectual Property Strategy and Strengthening Capabilities” on July 6 (Qatar local time). Qatar is accelerating its transition to a knowledge-based economy based on the ‘Qatar National Vision 2030’ in order to break away from its oil-dependent economic structure, and h
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Yoon-joo received a courtesy visit by Japanese Ambassador to Korea Mizushima Koichi on July 4, and exchanged views on the overall bilateral relations between Korea and Japan. Vice Minister Park noted that since the launch of the new Korean government, there has been an active exchange between the leaders of the two countries and a positive trend in bilateral relations has continued. He emphasized the need for even closer communication between the two countries to develop solid and mature Korea-Japan relations and to deepen Ko
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Climate Change in Seoul on July 1, 2025. It was organized by the Korea Institute of Energy Research and supported by the Seoul Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, the Korea Startup Accelerator and Early Stage Investors Association, and the Chungnam Content Agency. As AI technologies play an increasingly significant role in addressing climate change and accelerating the energy transition, this conference brought together over 450 participants—including
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Amit Kumar, Indian Ambassador to South Korea, visited the Daejeon Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Daejeon on July 1 to discuss ways to promote business exchange between Daejeon and India, the Daejeon Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced. The meeting was attended by Daejeon Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Jeong Tae-hee, along with Vice Chairman Kim Ho-taek, CEO of Samnam Pharmaceutical, and Park Han-oh, Chairman of BioNia, who explored the potential for Daejeon and Chungnam region companies to enter the Indian market and discussed ways to expan
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik met with Wilfried Georg Schmidt, German Ambassador to South Korea, in the Speaker's Office on June 27, 2025. At the meeting, Speaker Woo said, “The two countries share the values of the rule of law and democracy and are core allies that have experienced the pain of division.” He added, “In particular, in the 1960s and 1970s, South Korea provided the labor force necessary for Germany’s economic reconstruction through German miners and nurses, and Germany provided financial and technical support to South Korea, creating a hist
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee A total of 19 people, including ambassadors from 10 countries and their spouses, visited Gimpo and toured various places in Gimpo, including Aegibong and Jangneung, showing special interest in Gimpo's resources on June 27, 2025. On this day, Gimpo City introduced its resources to the ambassadors from 10 countries, laying the groundwork for international exchange and economic diplomacy. The ambassadors began with a rural experience activity at “Byeokkot Nongbu” in Haseong-myeon, exchanged greetings with Gimpo City Mayor Kim Byung-soo at Aegibong Peak, and then vis