大韓民國駐香港總領事趙鏞天在慶祝國慶招待會 致辭

大韓民國駐香港總領事趙鏞天在慶祝國慶招待會 致辭
Speech by Mr. Cho Yong-chun, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Hong Kong on the Occasion of the Korean National Day Reception

Dear Colleagues and Dear friends,
Thank you for joining us tonight to celebrate the National Day of the Republic of Korea.

A few days ago, 2014 Incheon Asian Games came to an end with great success. Hong Kong dispatched the largest team ever to the Games and achieved great results, winning 42 medals. Congratulations on the achievement by Hong Kong.

I am sure many of you know that K-pop, Korean soap operas, K-film and K-food have become very popular these days. Amid these growing interests of the Korean cultures, more and more foreigners including Hong Kongers are studying the Korean language and visiting Korea. Even though this phenomenon is relatively new, I believe that both tangible and intangible heritages of Korea’s long history and tradition provided a solid foundation.

For thousands of years, Korean people have upheld these proud tradition and history despite various obstacles and challenges in and out of the Korean peninsula. Furthermore, rising from the ashes of the Korean War in 1950, Korea achieved both democratization and industrialization in just half a century, creating the “Miracle on the Han River.”

Today Korea has emerged as the world’s 8th largest trading power, with its trade volume amounting to over US$ 1 trillion. In addition, as the first recipient-turned-donor country in the world, Korea is taking an active part in addressing various global issues.

Distinguished guests,

Next year marks the 70th anniversary of the division of North and South Korea. Throughout the 70 years, the Korean government has made continuous efforts to pave the way for a peaceful unification while taking a firm stance against the North’s provocations. We urge North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions without delay and embark on the path to peace and shared prosperity.

Distinguished Guests,

Based on the long history of exchanges as well as the similarities in culture, Korea-China relations have made an unprecedented progress. In his speech at a Korean university in this July, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed the close relationship between Korea and China, by quoting the line "肝膽每相照, 氷壺映寒月”from the poem of an ancient Korean poet. To put it simply, it means that the two countries are very open and sincere to each other.

Both Korea and Hong Kong were referred to as one of the Four Asian Tigers, enjoying rapid economic growth and prosperity. Korea and Hong Kong have also become key partners for growth and co-prosperity through our vibrant exchanges.

I am sure that Hong Kong will continue to advance as the commercial and financial hub of the Asia-Pacific region and as the gateway to the vast Chinese market. Moreover, the highly competitive trade, distribution and logistics, finance, tourism and professional service industries of Hong Kong have set a good example for Korean enterprises.

Meanwhile, Korea has also obtained remarkable achievements in electronics, ICT, and other technology-related industries. As the new growth engine, the current government has put forward the “creative economy” vision as its core national agenda. Creative economy is an economy that creates high added values by harnessing the creative ideas of individuals and by converging science and technology with industry. I know that Hong Kong government has also placed a high policy priority to nurturing innovation and technology. In this regard, I hope Hong Kong and Korea can share experiences and complement each other.

The heightened interest in each other also demonstrates a bright future between Korea and Hong Kong

In 2012, Hong Kong’s very first Department of Korean Studies was established at the HKU. Now there are four universities teaching Korean language as a minor and two Schools of Professional and Continuing Studies running Korean language courses. Also, the number of Hong Kongers visiting Korea is expected to exceed half a million this year, a 50% increase compared to last year. Last year alone, the number of Koreans visiting Hong Kong exceeded 1 million, the fourth largest number among foreigners visiting Hong Kong.

Distinguished Guests,

Thanks to your unsparing support, our Korean Consulate General has been hosting annual "Festive Korea" every October featuring music, dance, exhibition and movies, etc. We have the brochures for this year’s event outside, so feel free to take one and have a look. I hope you will come and enjoy Festive Korea with us. We will do our utmost to make the festival an opportunity to introduce Korean culture to many Hong Kongers as well as a venue for cultural exchanges between Korea and Hong Kong.

Once again, I would like to thank all of you for joining us tonight.

To express our gratitude, we have prepared something to please your eyes, ears, and mouth. IMaesrtry, the opera team from Seoul, will sing Korean and Chinese folk songs like Arirang and Morihwa, and arias from opera set in China such as Turandot. Students from Zhuhai give a demonstration of Tae Kwon Do, the Korean traditional Martial arts. And, we will serve 100% authentic traditional Korean dishes made by the Korean cuisine chefs of the Conrad Hotel in Seoul.

Lastly, closing my remarks, I would like to propose a toast,

“To the people of the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region!”

깐뻬이/깐뿌이/ Cheers.
Thank you.