By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
Michael Pospisil, general director of the Czech Centers that promote Czech culture around the world, encouraged Korea to build a Korean cultural center in Prague.
Pospisil, who was in town last week to assess the Czech Information Center's activities, told The Korea Times that the timing is ripe to do it.
"It would be good to have a Korea cultural center in Prague, Czech Republic," he said.
Yet, it seems to be a wishful thinking for now.
Kong Hyung-sik, director of the cultural promotion division at the Korean Culture and Information Service (KCIS), an organization in charge of opening and maintaining the centers, said the Czech Republic is not on the horizon any time soon.
Kong said that political support from the host country is very important, citing Hungary as an example.
The Korean cultural center in Hungary will open within two to three years "as a result of persistent demands" from the European country.
That means, Kong continued, a Korean cultural center will exist in Poland, German and Hungary, which makes the chances for the Czech Republic even slimmer.
As of May 2010, Korean cultural centers have been established in 16 different cities worldwide. In Europe they are currently in France, Germany, Britain and Poland.
The KCIS' goal is to open 17 new centers by 2012. This year alone, four more locations will be added: Spain, the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia. Singapore is also listed, Kong said, but not for this year.
In Korea the Czech Information Center is up and running, an initiative of Jaroslav Olsa, Jr., the Czech ambassador.
When it fully opens, it will be the 25th. Pospisil's visit was to this end, assessing the work of the center with expansion in mind.
The center is located inside the Czech restaurant "Castle Praha" in Hongdae.
What Pospisil hoped for was to open both a Korean cultural center and a Czech Center reciprocally.
To some extent, Pospisil's resume runs parallel to Yu In-chon, an actor-turned-minister of culture, sports and tourism, although the director's resume has a little more spice.
Growing up, Pospisil was a child actor. He studied photography in his youth and film-making at university. Since the 1980s, he has been a film director, scriptwriter, producer, cameraman, film director and journalist.
His public diplomacy career began in 2000 in France, after he was offered a position at the Czech Center in Paris. Having spent seven years as the director of the center in France, he then moved to Sofia, Bulgaria again as a director.
In September 2009, he was appointed to run the entire organization.
"This, I enjoy the most," was the diplomatic answer to the question which of his previous careers he has liked the most.
Reflecting upon what he has done, there's no reason not to enjoy this new position.
He is still a creative brain, coming up with wild ideas to link his culture with others around the world.
For example, he founded a jazz club "Prague-France" in 2001 while in Paris as well as organizing an international jazz festival in 2006.
During his stay here, as a fan of ceramics, he said he was impressed by antique Korean pottery. He also liked Korean contemporary art, which he was able to view for the first time.