By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo During the International Forum on Important Minerals (INFOCM 2025) held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, which commenced on May 12-13, 2025, the geological authorities of Tajikistan and Korea formalized a collaborative partnership. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Main Department of Geology under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, represented by its Head, Ilhomjon Oimuhammadzoda, and the Korean Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources, represented by its President, Dr. Pyeong Ku Lee. This MOU establishes a framework for co
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Ahliddin Ibodullozoda, Rector of the Tajik State Pedagogical University named after Sadriddin Ayni and a representative of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tajikistan, held a meeting with Yang O-Bong, President of Jeonbuk National University of the Republic of Korea, on May 14, 2025 as part of a working visit to South Korea. During the meeting, the parties discussed expanding cooperation in areas such as academic exchange of students and faculty, organizing joint conferences, inviting professors to deliver lectures, sharing scientific an
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young St. Lazarus Village will hold its 38th Charity Concert, “In Your Presence,” on June 11 at the Seongnam Arts Center Opera House. This will be the first time in six years that the charity concert has been held since the 37th charity concert in 2019, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 'In Your Presence' began in 1975 with the voluntary participation of celebrities to help people with Hansen's disease in Korea and abroad. The subtitle of the charity concert, which commemorates the Universal Church's regular jubilee and the 75th anniversary of the fo
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 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 Lee Kap-soo The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Korea co-hosted the Korea-Uzbekistan Insight Forum at the Embassy in Seoul on May 13. The forum was held with the participation of both countries’ governments and related institutions, aiming to further enhance Korea-Uzbekistan economic cooperation. Forum participants shared the growing need for mutual cooperation between the two countries in view of their special strategic partnership, highlighting the importance of tangible cooperation in not only trade and inv
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Kim Moon-soo, the Presidential candidate for the People Power Party (PPP), held a luncheon with U.S. Interim Ambassador to Korea Joseph Yun at the U.S. Embassy residence in Jung-gu, Seoul, on May 15. The luncheon, which lasted for about an hour and a half, was attended by Kim Jae-won, the candidate's chief of staff, and Min Jang, the U.S. Embassy's counselor for political affairs. “It was a meaningful time for candidate Kim to have a heart-to-heart conversation about strengthening the U.S.-ROK alliance, North Korea's nuclear issue, and mutual cooperation to res
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo A presentation of the new direct flight between Shymkent and Seoul by SCAT Airlines took place in the capital of South Korea on May 15. The flight is scheduled to launch on May 29, 2025. The event brought together more than 70 leading Korean tour operators and media representatives, highlighting the growing interest in expanding tourism and business exchanges between the two countries. With the launch of this route, Kazakhstan and Korea will be connected by 15 direct flights per week, including flights from Astana and Almaty. The new connection marks an importa
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 Lee Kap-soo Kim Min-jong, president of Korea Institute of Maritime and Fisheries Technology (KIMFT), met with Chilean Ambassador to Korea Mathias Francke at the KIMFT office in Busan in April. They discussed cooperation in the field of maritime education and training and sign a business agreement, the KIMFT announced on May 13. The visit was aimed at signing a business agreement between the KIMFT and the Chilean Ministry of Defense for continued cooperation in the field of maritime education and training, including mutual cooperation in lectures and training activities, in
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Korea-Saudi Business and Investment Forum was launched on May 9 in Seoul. The forum is anticipated to catalyze economic cooperation between the two countries across new and cutting-edge areas like digital, advanced manufacturing, clean energy, healthcare, and culture, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) said. Part of an aim to strengthen Korea-Saudi partnership in line with the Saudi Vision 2030, the forum brings together 250 business leaders of both countries to seek collaboration and tangible opportunities around promising new industries such a
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Doosan Enerbility's Czech subsidiary, Doosan Skoda Power, officially sponsored the 'Prague Spring International Music Festival'. The Prague Spring International Music Festival opened in Prague on May 12, the anniversary of Bedřich Smetana, the Czech Republic's national composer. The festival opened with a performance of Smetana's signature work, “My Fatherland,” a collection of symphonic poems, at Smetana Hall. The Prague Spring International Music Festival was founded in 1946 to commemorate the first anniversary of the end of World War II and is now in its 80t
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