Minister of Culture Ahmed Hanno met on Monday 19/8/2024 with Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Egypt Kim Yonghyon and exchanged views on ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the field of culture.
Ambassador Kim congratulated the Minister on his appointment, offering him best wishes for a successful tenure, and highlighted the remarkable advancement of bilateral relations since the establishment of the Comprehensive Cooperative Partnership between the two countries in 2016, with notable achievements particularly in the cultural sector.
Ambassador Kim recognized that Hallyu (Korean wave) is very much loved by the people of Egypt and emphasized that cultural exchanges between the two countries have been steadily growing across various fields such as language, culture, tourism, and sports. He briefed on the activities of the Korean Cultural Center (KCC), celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, including that 5,135 Egyptian students have learned Korean language at the King Sejong Institute, opera
ted by KCC, from 2021 to 2023.
Furthermore, Ambassador Kim also expressed his willingness to further strengthening cultural exchanges as the two countries celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2025. He provided an overview of the meaningful cultural events planned for this year and the next year, including K-Pop performances and cultural exchanges themed around Hanbok (Korean Traditional Clothing), Calligraphy, and Samulnori (Korean Traditional Percussion Music) to commemorate this significant milestone. He also introduced Korean Culture Week, scheduled to be held from September 22 to 28 at the Opera House. Ambassador Kim noted that the event, themed around Korean Sound, will include a performance by the renowned Korean band LEENALCHI at the opening ceremony.
Minister Hanno expressed his appreciation for Ambassador Kim’s efforts and acknowledged the steady strengthening of people-to people and cultural exchanges since the establishment of diplomatic ties.
He conveyed his hope that the 30th a
nniversary would serve as an opportunity to deepen and expand cultural cooperation between the two countries and expressed his wishes for continued communication between two sides.
Both sides also explored the idea of designating 2025 as the ‘Year of Korea-Egypt Cultural Exchange’ and discussed cooperation in areas such as intellectual property rights related to culture and cultural Official Development Assistance (ODA).
The two sides agreed to continue strengthening bilateral cooperation and to closely communicate in exploring future opportunities for collaboration.
Source: State Information Service Egypt