Danish Queen Margrethe II

By Choe Chong-dae

Although Denmark is quite far from Korea, it has never been far from my heart. I have strongly been attracted during my lifetime to this beautiful kingdom, as if it were a second home.

A strong element in my personal background, which has nurtured my attraction to Scandinavian countries came from tales my late father told me when I was a child. My family has had a unique historical relationship with the royal family of Sweden, which is closely related to the royal family of neighboring Denmark.

The royal family of Sweden is on the maternal side of the current royal family of Denmark. The late Queen Ingrid of Denmark, the wife of His Majesty King Frederik IX (1899-1972) and the mother of the current Queen, Her Majesty Margrethe II, was the daughter of the late King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, with whom my father was well-acquainted. King Gustaf VI was the grandfather of the current Swedish monarch, King Carl Gustaf XVI.

In October 1926, Korea was honored by a royal visitor, in the person of Crown Prince Gustaf, later to be crowned King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. The crown prince was undertaking a trip to Gyeongju, the ancient capital of the Silla Kingdom.

At that time, the prince visited various archeological sites in the Far East, with the interest and expertise of a professional archeologist. My father, Choe Nam-ju, a true pioneer in the field of Korean archeology, assisted the crown prince in taking part in the famous excavation of a splendid gold crown at the ``Sobong Tomb'' in Gyeongju.

After the time of the 1926 excavation and in view of the happy memories the adventure and the success of it held for both Gustaf and my father, he and my father and other members of the Swedish royal family, including Gustaf's daughter Ingrid (the future Queen Ingrid of Denmark), maintained a continuous friendship with my father and his family by means of written letters ― a friendship that lasted throughout their lives.

It was in the middle of the 1960s when I was in elementary school, that Queen Ingrid's daughter, then-Crown Princess Margrethe of Denmark and now Queen Margrethe II of that beautiful land, sent to my father some letters and a Christmas card, expressing an interest in archeology.

I remember that the Christmas card was very unique and elegant, because it was hand-drawn by the princess herself.

Queen Margrethe II made a state visit to Korea on October 8-12, 2007. Her trip marked her first visit to Korea and the first time any Danish head of state has been to this country at any time, including the lengthy period of time since Denmark first established diplomatic ties with the Republic of Korea in 1959.

Coincidently, the queen's visit came at the same time of year as the October 1926 trip to Gyeongju of her grandfather, the crown prince who was later to become King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden.

I had the privilege of meeting Queen Margrethe II of Denmark at a banquet in Seoul on October 9, which was hosted by Ambassador of Denmark Poul O. G. Hoiness.

Many prominent figures from a variety of sectors of Korean society, including Park Moo-jong, the president and publisher of The Korea Times, had the honor of joining the banquet in the presence of the Danish queen.

The dinner party was enhanced by lovely entertainment, such as highly refined opera, jazz and ballet, and a performance by the Royal Guards' Brass Assembly; indeed, such fine entertainment created an elegant atmosphere for the invited guests.

An elegant design symbolizing love and harmony, appearing on the cover of the formal program brochure for the gala dinner, was painted by the queen herself. She is widely respected by the people of Denmark for her intellectual prowess, as well as for her artistic abilities as not only a painter, but as well an illustrator, a set designer for the theatre, and a textile artist.

At the time of the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, the three major Scandinavian nations exhibited a humanitarian concern for world medical needs, and permitted the U.N. to dispatch medical units from the respective militaries of those three lands to Korea, where those units established field hospitals on the battlefront.

Denmark sent a modern hospital ship the ``Jutlandia,'' which treated tens of thousands of U.N. war casualties. After the end of the war, the Swedish government together with the governments of Denmark and Norway and felt that they could continue to assist Korean society by means of offering medical assistance.

Therefore, they provided the South Korean government with financial aid, medical teams and experts in the administration of medical facilities, which resulted in the opening and the longtime operation of a hospital in downtown Seoul for the general Korean public.

The hospital is now known as the Korean National Medical Center and it was established in 1958, in cooperation with the three Scandinavian nations, the U.N., and South Korea.

Queen Margrethe had been scheduled to visit the ``Sobong Tomb'' in Gyeongju, where her grandfather had engaged in excavation efforts back in 1926 in order to retrace her grandfather's archeological steps of eight decades earlier.

However, her schedule changed at the last moment, preventing her from visiting Gyeongju, due to other commitments in Seoul. I do hope that she will be able to make a trip to Korea again at some point in the future and to visit Gyeongju, and that the bilateral relationship between Korea and Denmark continues to be enhanced in future years.

Choe Chong-dae is the president of Dae-Kwang International. He is also a longtime director of the Korean-Swedish Association. He can be reached atdkic98@chol.com