Korea, Spain urged to work for better ties

Participants of the 9th Korea-Spain Forum pose for a photo during the opening ceremony of the two-day event at the Marriot Hotel in Seoul, Wednesday.
/ Courtesy of Korea Foundation

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Experts from Korea and Spain exchanged ideas to facilitate bilateral relations in the areas of regional branding, culture and smart cities at the Marriot Hotel in Seoul, Wednesday.

During a keynote speech to the 9th Korea-Spain forum, Cho Tae-yul, second vice foreign minister, called on the two sides to play a part to boost bilateral relations.

Cho, a former Korean ambassador to Spain, regretted that the depth and width of relations of the two countries fell far below what they would have reached if they fully utilized their potential.

"The two sides share a lot in common in terms of the statuses of their economies, population, and their geopolitical locations as peninsula states. The two countries also underwent civil wars and this is another similarity they share," he said.

Cho argued that people of the two countries didn't know their counterpart countries partly because there is a perception gap between them.

He said the image of Spain among Koreans is limited to that of an imperial state which used to control a significant part of the world in the past and a country in which writer Miguel de Cervantes Saasvedra, the author of Don Quixote, was born.

Spanish people also have limited understanding of Korea, too, he said.

"Quite a few Spanish people know that Korea is a country which achieved miraculous economic growth and industrialization for a generation period and such global brands as Samsung, LG and Hyundai are Korean companies. But few of them know that Korea is the world's 15th largest economy…"

Cho noted opportunities like the Korea-Spain forum would help the two nations and their people build deeper understanding of each other.

Ramon Moreno, president of Casa Asia of Spain and Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros, the head of nation branding committee of Spain, also delivered speeches during the forum. Korea Times president and publisher Park Moo-jong joined the panel discussion.

The two-day forum will end today.

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