By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, a South Korean man fearlessly defeated Japan, the world's strongest team, and won a gold medal in judo, raising the flag of hope for South Korea. He was Ha Hyung-joo, known as the “Star of the Nation.” At the end of last year, he was selected as a South Korean sports hero and inducted into the Hall of Fame, demonstrating the significant impact he has had on South Korean sports. His victory was not simply about winning a medal. It was a spark that boosted the morale of the Korean people and a symbol of national joy that turned aro
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The World Peace Art Exhibition Organizing Committee (WPAEOC), led by Chairman Lee Jon-young, donated 42 K-folk painting artworks to the Busan Detention Center under the Daegu Regional Correctional Office on May 30, continuing its art sharing activities to help inmates' emotional stability and social reintegration. This donation was made possible through the proposal of Chairman Lee Jon-young, who has shown deep interest in the rehabilitation of inmates and the prevention of reoffending. The donated works will be installed in the detention center's exhibition spac
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee With the election of Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party as the 21st president, South Korea has seen a power transition after three years. As of 2:30 a.m. on June 4, with 97% of the votes counted, Lee Jae-myung had secured 48.8% of the vote, effectively securing his election, which corresponds to approximately 16,012,000 votes. Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party came in second with 42.1% of the vote. This presidential election was the second early presidential election held against the backdrop of unprecedented political turmoil, including the first state o
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul held a luncheon meeting in Seoul with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of The Gambia, H.E. Dr. Mamadou Tangara, who is visiting Korea to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries on May 23. The two Foreign Ministers exchanged views on bilateral relations, cooperation in key sectors, cooperation on the international stage, and regional affairs. Korea and Gambia established diplomatic relations on April 21, 1965. The Gambian delegation included Hon. Prof. Pierre Gomez, Minister of
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Hong-kyun held a meeting with the All-Party Parliamentary Delegation of India, led by Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Mr. Sanjay Kumar Jha, on May 26, 2025. The two sides exchanged views on the recent terrorist attack in Kashmir and the subsequent regional situation. Prior to the meeting, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul made a brief visit to greet the Indian delegation. During the meeting, the All-Party Parliamentary Delegation of India explained the Kashmir terrorist attack and the Indian government’s response and position. Vice M
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee St. Lazarus Village, Korea's first institution for Hansen patinets, has been on a 75-year journey. On June 2, 1950, just before the Korean War broke out, a small nursing home was established in Shingichon, Gwangmyeong-ri, Gyeonggi-do. It was called St. Lazarus Sanatorium. It was named after Lazarus, the biblical Hansen's disease sufferer, and was the first Korean Catholic institution to be established for the treatment and independence of involuntary Hansen's disease patients. It was founded by Monsignor George M. Carroll of the Maryknoll Foreign Missionaries of
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Jung-gu, Seoul, led by Mayor Kim Gil-sung, announced on May 19 that it will showcase the interior of Habib House, the residence of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, as an online content to mark the 11th anniversary of the ‘Jungdong Nightlife’ Festival. To this end, Mayor Kim visited Habib House with two Jung-gu influencers on March 14 and had a meeting with U.S. Interim Ambassador to Korea Joseph Yun and filmed the interior of the residence. The content production was finalized when Mayor Kim reached out to the U.S. Embassy to express his desire to include the residence
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Gyeongsangnam-do Province Governor Park Wan-soo, who met with Mongolian Ambassador to Korea Sukhee Sukhbold on May 16, said, “I look forward to further expanding cultural and economic exchanges between Gyeongnam and Mongolia.” The meeting took place during Ambassador Sukhbold's visit to Changwon. Mongolia is the host country of MAMF, Asia's largest multicultural festival, which will be held in Changwon from October 24 to 26. This year marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Mongolia and the 20th anniversary of the MAMF festival, and t
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) will once again host the Seoul International Garden Show (SIGS), a signature ‘Garden City Seoul’ event that attracted a cumulative 7.8 million visitors over five months at Ttukseom Hangang Park last year, the SMG said on May 14. This year’s SIGS 2025 will take place at Boramae Park for about 150 days from May 22 to Oct. 20, spanning three seasons from spring to fall and covering 400,000 square meters of urban greenery. As the 10th anniversary since its launch in 2015, it will present the largest area and longest duration to
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the launching ceremony for the 2025 「Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) Young Leaders」on May 9 at the ministry’s Mofamaru Hall in Seoul. FEALAC, composed of 36 member countries, is an inter-regional multilateral forum launched in 1999 with the aim of promoting better understanding between East Asia and Latin America. Korea has played an active role by hosting and operating the FEALAC Cyber Secretariat since 2011 and leading the establishment of the FEALAC Cooperation Fund. Now in its 7th term, the FEALAC Yo
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Governor Oh Young-hoon of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province held a meeting with Ben Nelson, founder of Minerva University, a world-class innovative education institution in the U.S., at the Buyeong Hotel on May 12, and held in-depth discussions on future educational cooperation. During the meeting, Governor Oh said, “I hope that a cooperation model with Minerva University will be established in the fields of carbon neutrality, energy transition policy in 2035, and private space industry, which Jeju Island is promoting.” “In these fields, Jeju University has hu
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Jeju Special Self-Governing Province will further expand its exchange and cooperation with APEC member economies on the occasion of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Education Ministers' Meeting in Jeju. On May 13, Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon met with the senior delegations of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the United States attending the APEC Education Ministers' Meeting at the Jeju International Convention Center (ICC) to discuss global location programs and ways to expand human and cultural exchanges. In a meeting with Abdul Muti, Indonesia's Ministe
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul visited on May 8 a special exhibition on the Tongsinsa (delegation from the Joseon Dynasty to Japan), which is under way at the Seoul Museum of History under the theme “Bonds of the Heart, Waves of Resonance.” The exhibition, which is being held in cooperation between Korean and Japanese museums to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries, features 128 artifacts related to the Tongsinsa. As such, it serves as an opportunity to look back on the footsteps of the T
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) has appointed Indian actress Hina Khan as an honorary ambassador for Korean tourism, the KTO said on May 12. Hina Khan is beloved as a “national actor” in India for her role in the popular drama “What Kind of Relationship Do We Have?” which has aired for the longest time in India. Hina Khan, who is visiting Korea for the first time, will stay in Korea until May 13 and enjoy the diverse charms of Korea. She visited Bukchon Hanok Village, the filming location of the popular Korean drama in India, “Goblin,” the stone walls of Deo
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee An international conference co-hosted by Korean Association for Public Value (KAPV) and the Embassy of Morocco in Korea was held at the Museum Auditorium on the main campus of Gyeongsang National University on May 8. The conference was held under the theme of 'Strengthening Multi-dimensional Cooperation between Korea and Morocco' to explore practical ways of cooperation between the two countries. Founded in 2020, the KAPV aims to conduct interdisciplinary research on public value and has been publishing the Journal of Public Value twice a year. In particular, it