By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo Ambassador Chafik Rachadi of Morocco to Korea hosted a reception to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of His Majesty the King Mohammed VI to the Throne, commemorated as the National Day of the Kingdom of Morocco, at the Ambassador Seoul Pullman Hotel in Seoul, on July 30. Delivering a speech at the reception, Ambassador Chafik Rachadi said, “Morocco has spent the past quarter century cultivating and building momentum in international diplomacy, taking a dynamic course to establishing itself as a worldwide player. “One important result of this approach is
UNJournal Kayla Lee | President Yoon Suk-yeol sent congratulatory telegeams to each of the 14 South Korean athletes who have won medals over the past three days at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. In his congratulations to Ban Hyo-jin, the youngest member of the Korean shooting team to win a gold medal in the women's 10-meter air rifle, the President said, “The entire nation held its breath during the last single shot of the youngest member of the Korean Olympic team in Paris and cheered when she won by 0.1 points.” He praised Ban's focus and boldness in winning Korea's 100th gold me
UNJournal Kayla Lee | Many Korean legends and myths are closely linked to nature. One of the most notable is the 'Manbyeonghwajodo' (萬病花朝圖). As its name suggests, this unique flower is said to have the mystical ability to cure all ailments, and the legends and stories surrounding it have been passed down through the ages. Manbyeonghwajodo is a painting that depicts the characteristic elements of the flower in a stylized manner, rather than in a realistic form. Each canvas is labeled with the names of flowers, such as Hangyuoknyeo Jikgeumhwa, Hongdohwa, Dongjeonghosangbuyonghwa, Yeongjuhwa, Okd
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo Kim Hong-kyun, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, and Ma Zhaoxu, Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, held the tenth Korea-China Vice Foreign Ministerial Strategic Dialogue on July 24 in Seoul. The two sides discussed issues of mutual interest such as Korea-China relations, , and regional and global affairs. The Dialogue has been held 9 times since the two countries agreed at the Korea-China Summit in 2008 to establish a high-level strategic dialogue channel between their diplomatic authorities. The tent
UNJournal Jon Lee | The South Korean National Assembly is a mess. With political conflicts and confrontations reaching a fever pitch, the National Assembly is more focused on political strife than on policies for the people. In this situation, people's expectations of the National Assembly are getting lower and lower, which is causing serious problems across the country. It is not just politicians who are responsible for the current state of the National Assembly. The people are also at fault. They often make poor judgments in elections and are swayed by inflammatory media and fake news to cas
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo The Central Election Commission held a meeting and a series of events today, July 26th. The primary agenda item was the preparation and high-level accomplishment of the upcoming elections for the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis and the Councils of People's Deputies in full compliance with the Constitution and laws. According to Article 128 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, are scheduled to take place on the first Sunday of the third ten-day period of October in the year their term expires. Considering that the term of the deputies of the Legisl
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo Noting that the annual APEC CEO Summit will be held in Lima, Peru, from November 13 to 15 this year, Peruvian Ambassador to Korea Paul Fernando Duclos Farodi said, “We look forward to the visit of President Yoon Suk-yeol and an important delegation of senior officials and representatives of the private sector of Korea to Peru in November this year.” Delivering a speech at the reception held at Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul to mark the 203rd Anniversary of the Independence of Peru on July 25, Amb. Duclos Farodi said, “A few weeks ago, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of P
By UN Journal Lee Jon-young The Buddhist University, affiliated with the Korean Buddhist Council (the “Buddhist Council”), held its first Buddhist sermon contest at the Supreme Hall of Bomyeong-sa Temple in Incheon, Korea on June 13, where four students from the School of Buddhist Priest Law were selected and participated in the first preaching contest with the participation of the chairman, president, dean, professors, certified teachers, and members of the congregation. “The Buddhist University of the Buddhist Council is an academy education for the training of social leaders,” said Dr. Lee
By UN Journal Lee Jon-young The special envoy delegation of President Yoon Suk-yeol, comprised of Presidential Chief of Staff for Policy Sung Tae-yoon and Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Deok-geun, met with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala on July 24 and delivered a letter of thanks from President Yoon for the selection of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) as the preferred bidder for the new nuclear power plant, and discussed follow-up measures. On behalf of the Korean government and Team Korea, Sung Tae-yoon, head of the envoy delegation, expressed his gratitude for the opportu
UNJournal Jon Lee | Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae and Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam of the Republic of Singapore signed the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Singapore on July 24, 2024, in Singapore. The Treaty establishes an institutional foundation for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters between the two countries that celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations next year, by laying out the specific scope and procedures for the legal assistance. The Tre
UNJournal Jon Lee | In 2024, the bond between Korea and Africa was strengthened through a series of significant events. The Korea-Africa Summit featured the <Harmony in Symbols> exhibition, which was sponsored by the Ghanaian Embassy and showcased the works of ten notable Korean artists. These artists used traditional Ghanaian Adinkra symbols in their unique works. The exhibition was a highlight of cultural and artistic events during the summit. One of the notable artists we met was Yi Seo-hoo, whose use of the Abode Santann symbol, symbolizing cosmic power and omnipresence, has gained r
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo “I invite Korean electrical appliance companies to consider Colombia as an investment destination,” said Colombian Ambassador to Korea Alejandro Peláez Rodríguez at a reception to celebrate the 214th Colombia’s Independence Day. Delivering a speech at the gala reception held at Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul on July 22, Amb. Rodríguez said, “We have worked with the Korean authorities and companies to make it a reality that South Korea engineering is present in Colombia in the design, construction and operation of electric, solar and wind power generation plants. “The sol
By UN Journal L:ee Kap-soo The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) announced on July 19 that it has agreed to increase the number of flights between Korea and the Czech Republic from the current four to seven times a week. The Czech Republic is home to more than 100 Korean companies in various sectors, including automobiles and semiconductors. Prague is a popular tourist destination for Koreans, and the airline sector has been the foundation for enhancing friendly cooperation between the two countries since the establishment of direct flights in 2004. As part of the industr
UNJournal Jon Lee | The 27th World Peace Art Exhibition 2024 has completed the first and second rounds of judging. The overall grand prize (Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award) went to Kang Moa (Folk Painting), and the category grand prizes (Seoul Mayor's Award and Chairman's Award) went to Cho Kyung-sun (Folk Painting), Kim Young-ok (Western Painting), Joo Eun-young (Western Painting), and Oh Yoon-hee (Korean Painting) and Cho Jin-won (Calligraphy). They will receive a certificate and a purchase cash prize. The 550 selected works out of 1,250 entries will be exhibited from August 21
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul held a Foreign Ministerial Meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly in Seoul to exchange views on bilateral relations, regional and global developments on July 18. The two ministers noted that recent exchanges and communications between the leaders and ministers of the two countries demonstrate the importance that both sides attach to the Korea-Canada relationship, and adopted the Korea-Canada Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Action Plan as a follow-up to the May 2023 Korea-Canada Summit. The Action Plan is designed