The Bulgarian Embassy celebrated last week the presidency of the Council of the European Union this year, as well as its 140th anniversary of national independence from the Ottoman Empire on March 3, 1878.“In March 2018, exactly 140 years after the restoration of our statehood, the Republic of Bulgaria is holding the presidency of the Council of the EU until June 30, the first time since our EU accession in 2007,” said Bulgarian Ambassador Petar Andonov in a speech at a reception in Seoul on Mar

Georgia expresses its deep sorrow over the death of its citizen Archil Tatunashvili in the region of Tskhinvali, also known as South Ossetia, who was killed while under detention by occupying Russian forces on Feb. 22, said the Georgian Embassy in Seoul. The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned those responsible for his death and urged Russia to return his body for a medical examination and burial, it added. Two more Georgian citizens had previously been detained in the region, on

British Ambassador Charles Hay wrapped up his three-year tenure in Korea, having helped enhance all-encompassing bilateral relations from trade and investment to defense, culture and education.Hay, a former director of consular services in London in charge of crisis response prior to his posting here, began his ambassadorship in February 2015. He left Korea last week. In a media interview at the embassy on Wednesday, the career diplomat said he had a “remarkable” three years in the country, witn

The Mexican Embassy in Korea has organized an art exhibition featuring iconic representations of Mexican landscapes and lives at the Mun Gallery of Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul.The event “Geographies, Contemporary Mexican Art in Korea” runs through next Tuesday free of charge. It has been arranged in collaboration with the Seoul Design Foundation.From the vigorous hues of deserts to vivacious tapestries of urban life, and from the virginal marine life to visionary imagination of topographies

“Kazakhstan, being the world’s ninth-largest country in terms of landmass, possesses huge unexplored potential in renewable energy as measured in terawatt hours. It includes solar, wind, hydro, biomass geothermal energies,.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha left for Geneva, Switzerland, on Sunday to attend a UN meeting on human rights where she will likely touch on North Korea and the wartime sexual slavery of Korean women by Japan.Kang plans to deliver a keynote speech at the UN Human Rights Council meeting which kicks off Monday (local time), according to the foreign ministry. The Geneva-based council has adopted a resolution condemning the North's human rights situation every year since its launch in

Finland's foreign minister reaffirmed his support for South Korea's policy on North Korea in a meeting with his South Korean counterpart in Seoul on Thursday, the foreign ministry said. The meeting between Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini was held to discuss bilateral and global cooperation as well as the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.Kang called for Finland's "sustained attention and cooperation" with regard to South Korea's push to open denuc

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon met with Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila on Monday and discussed ways to increase substantial cooperation between the two countries and other issues of common interest, his office said.Sipila arrived in South Korea on Saturday for a six-day visit on the occasion of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The trip includes a visit to the athletes‘ village and attendance at Olympic events involving Finnish athletes.During Monday’s meeting, Lee said that the two countries hav

Tanzania opened its inaugural embassy in Seoul on Wednesday, laying the foundation for comprehensive and firsthand engagement with South Korea after the two countries marked the silver jubilee of bilateral relations last year. The milestone event at the diplomatic mission in the Yongsan district was attended by a throng of guests, including former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Tanzanian Foreign Minister Augustine Mahiga and Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam, as well

German youths will have a unique experience of sampling the Olympic spirit and hobnobbing with young Koreans as part of the German Olympic Youth Camp, according to the German Embassy in Seoul. A team of 40 high-performing young athletes and volunteers between ages 16-19 from Germany will visit Korea from Feb. 8-21 for the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in Gangwon Province. Their visit is organized by the German Olympic Academy and German Sports Youths commissioned by the German Olympic Sports

“It is also important to understand and be open to people from different backgrounds. You need to embrace cultural differences and appreciate diversity.”

“Sri Lanka hopes to leverage its location advantages and emerge as a regional economic hub by developing a network of ports as well as services based on logistics, transport, the financial sector and blue economy.”

The Indian Embassy in Seoul celebrated the 69th anniversary of its Republic Day on Friday, which honors the entry into force of India’s constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. The constitution replaced the Government of India Act of 1935 as the nation’s supreme law. Jan. 26 was chosen because India’s declaration of independence was proclaimed by the Indian National Congress that day. Over 400 guests participated in a reception marking the event at the Some Sevit culture complex in Seoul, including politi

The ASEAN-Korea Center in Seoul was bestowed an award last week for invigorating tourism between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Korea.Kim Young-sun, the center’s secretary-general and Korean ambassador to Indonesia from 2011-14, received a “Visit ASEAN at 50” certificate award from Thai Minister of Tourism and Sports Weerasak Kowsurat at the 37th ASEAN Tourism Forum in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on Friday.The accolade is given to the regional bloc’s partnering organizations that have