President Park Geun-hye expressed hope on Friday that South Korea's culture will be born again as a cultural asset shared by mankind.
She also said South Korea is seeking to help plant new seeds of hope in areas affected by conflict and poverty through K-pop and other aspects of Korean culture.
"At a time when borders are eroding, when our world is increasingly becoming a shared community, I look forward to humanity being brought together and connecting through culture,"
Park said in a video message at a "Korea Night" function hosted for foreign business leaders at the World Economic Forum under way in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. "My hope is to see Korea's culture go through the kind of renewal that would make it more accessible across the world."
South Korean pop culture has gained wide popularity in China, Southeast Asian countries and other parts of the world in recent years.
In 2014, Park attended the forum, known as the "Davos Forum."
The "Korean Night," the eighth of its kind since 2009, was hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries, South Korea's biggest business lobby.
The function aims to show the country's culture industry to world business leaders as it is a new growth engine for the future.
Among the attendees at the function were Rep. Choi Kyung-hwan, who also serves as a special envoy of President Park, Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, and Seoul City Mayor Park Won-soon.
Also on the sidelines of the meeting, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Rep. Choi, and they discussed ways to increase cooperation between the two sides, Ban's office said.
Ban expressed his appreciation for South Korea's support in advancing key international priorities, including the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015, the office said.
Ban also expressed hope that Korea would play a leading global role in the implementation of the two goals.
Noting that Choi had successfully completed his service as deputy prime minister and had returned to the National Assembly this month, Ban asked that Choi galvanize support from the Korean government and parliament for the U.N.
Choi, who served as the finance minister until earlier this month, was replaced, as he seeks to run for the April general elections.
The two sides also shared concerns about current developments on the Korean Peninsula after the North's nuclear test. Ban reiterated his hope that the parties will intensify efforts to move for denuclearization, peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, the office said. (Yonhap)
