UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | Uzbekistan has emerged as the standout performer in Central Asia's tourism sector, leading a regional surge that the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has identified as the fastest-growing in the world in 2025, according to the organisation's Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Research 2026 report. The WTTC, which divides the world into 13 major regions for the purposes of its annual research, found that Central Asia ranked first globally across several key tourism performance indicators last year. Within the region, Uzbekistan recorded the strongest results
UNJournal Jon Lee | Ambassador Shafiq Rachai of the Kingdom of Morocco in Seoul said, "The Royal Throne is the cornerstone that has sustained the Moroccan nation for a long time and is the most important national symbol that unites the royal family and the people.” Speaking at a gala reception hosted by the Embassy of Morocco in Seoul at the Ambassador Seoul Pullman Hotel on July 30, 2026, Ambassador Rachai then added, "Today, we are celebrating not only the 27th anniversary of His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s accession but also the national development and reforms achieved under the King’s lead
UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | President Lee Jae Myung of the Republic of Korea paid a state visit to Brazil from 26 to 29 July 2026 at the invitation of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, reciprocating Lula's visit to Korea in February of this year. Lee was accompanied by ministers, senior officials and a large delegation of business executives, in a visit that both leaders described as reflecting positive momentum in bilateral relations built through five meetings over just over a year. The visit followed the historic elevation of Korea-Brazil relations to a Strategic Partnership, agre
UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | South Korea's Government Representative for Overseas Citizen Protection and Consular Affairs, Lim Sang-woo, held the fourth Korea-Uzbekistan Consular Consultation with Uzbek Deputy Foreign Minister Abdullaev Olimjon in Tashkent on the morning of 3 August, marking the first such meeting between the two countries in roughly 12 years. The talks covered a broad range of consular issues, including improving conditions for the entry, exit and residence of Korean nationals in Uzbekistan, and the protection of Korean citizens residing in the country. Previous rounds of the con
UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | South Korea's First Vice Minister of Science and ICT, Koo Hyuk-chae, met with Kazakh Ambassador to Korea Asset Issenali on 4 August at the Government Complex Sejong to discuss science and technology cooperation between the two countries, with a focus on combining their respective strengths in resources and technical talent. Both sides welcomed the upcoming first Korea-Central Asia Summit, scheduled to take place in Seoul in September, and emphasized the potential for expanded science and technology cooperation ahead of the meeting. Officials noted that Kazakhstan holds
UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | Michelle Steel has assumed her post as the new U.S. ambassador to South Korea, filling a position that had remained vacant for a year and a half. She is the second Korean-American to serve as U.S. ambassador to Seoul, following former Ambassador Sung Kim, and the first Korean-American woman to hold the position. "I respectfully greet the people of Korea," Ambassador Steel said upon assuming her post. "Although I was born in Seoul, I stand here representing the United States." She added that South Korea and the United States "should jointly try to realize U.S. President
UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | Cultural cooperation between Uzbekistan and the United States has expanded steadily over the past decade, becoming an increasingly significant dimension of bilateral relations alongside economic and political ties, according to Uzbek officials and cultural institutions. Uzbekistan's president has designated cultural diplomacy as one of the country's key foreign policy instruments, a shift that has broadened Tashkent's engagement with international partners, including the United States, in areas ranging from music and education to heritage preservation. Musical and Acad
UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | South Korean President Lee Jae-myung began a two-day official visit to Chile on 29 July (local time), opening his trip with a meeting with the Korean community in Santiago. The visit marks the first trip to Chile by a sitting South Korean president in 11 years and is expected to advance relations with a country that was South Korea's first free trade agreement partner. The community meeting brought together around 100 representatives of Korean expatriate organizations in Chile, including the Korean Association in Chile, a senior citizens' association, and a restaurant
UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | The Embassy of Peru in the Republic of Korea hosted an official reception on 28 July 2026 at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul to mark the 205th anniversary of Peru's independence, drawing approximately 350 guests including senior Korean government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of international organizations, and figures from the business, academic and media sectors. Won Chong-dae, Deputy Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Korea, delivered congratulatory remarks at the event, reaffirming the shared commitment of Peru and Korea to s
UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | The 29th World Peace Art Exhibition, a representative international cultural and arts event of Korea, was successfully held on July 29 at the Korea Art Museum in Insa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. This event was organized by the World Peace Art Exhibition Organizing Committee and Diplomatic Journal, co-hosted by the World Peace Art Exhibition Steering Committee and the Damhwa Cultural Foundation, and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Gyeonggi Province, the Federation of Korean Arts and Culture Organizations (KFACO),
UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | Alamut Castle and its associated fortifications in northern Iran have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the World Heritage Committee announced at its 48th session held in Busan, South Korea. The designation makes Alamut Iran's 30th tangible cultural heritage property on the list. The inscription has renewed international attention on the mountainous Alamut region, an area where geography, architecture and history are closely intertwined, and which remains relatively unfamiliar to many audiences outside Iran. A Fortress Landscape in the Alborz Mountains
UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is set to pay a state visit to Kyrgyzstan on July 30-31, an event expected to mark a further step in the deepening strategic partnership between the two Central Asian neighbors, according to an analysis published by the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan (ISRS). The visit comes after several years of what researchers describe as a substantial transformation in bilateral ties, moving from disputes over border demarcation and trust-building toward a broader framework of cooperation spanning in
UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung has used a visit to San Francisco to launch what observers are describing as a concerted campaign of "AI sales diplomacy," holding back-to-back meetings with the chief executives of four of the world's most influential technology companies and laying out an ambitious vision for South Korea's role in the global artificial intelligence industry. In rapid succession, President Lee met with Dario Amodei of Anthropic, Sam Altman of OpenAI, Jensen Huang of NVIDIA, and Hock Tan of Broadcom — a lineup that reflects the breadth of the coope
UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | The Gabala International Festival of Music & Art 2026 is set to open in the historic city of Gabala, Republic of Azerbaijan, from July 29 to August 3, bringing together hundreds of artists from numerous countries for one of the region's most celebrated annual cultural events. Now a firmly established fixture in the South Caucasus cultural calendar, the festival has built a reputation as a meeting point for artists, collectors, cultural patrons, and dignitaries united by a shared passion for music and the visual arts. Each year, the event draws thousands of visitors
UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | President Lee Jae-myung is dispatching a special Presidential delegation to the inauguration of Peru's new President, Mme. Keiko Fujimori. The Korean government announced on the 24th that it plans to send a Presidential special delegation, led by Rep. Min Hong-Chul, to Peru to attend President Fujimori's inauguration ceremony on the upcoming 28th and to promote friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries in conjunction with the launching of Peru's new government. The delegation includes Rep. Min Hong-chul, who serves as the Chairman of the Korea-Peru P