By Philip Iglauer
In an inaugural ceremony on the premises of a new office building in Shindang-dong-- a ceremony imbued with spiritual significance as rites of four major religions were incorporated, Sri Lanka opened its new chancery, Nov. 1.
As if to emphasize the country’s rich tradition of religious tolerance, religious invocations from practices familiar in Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity, as well as Sri Lanka national rituals, were performed to consecrate the embassy and bless its halls with good fortune.
Embassy staff boiled milk and, as the milk boil and frothed, they recited messages of peace and good fortune until the milk bubbled up and boil over, in accordance with Sri Lankan custom. They also performed a candle-lighting rite, in which six religious leaders on hand helped light 14 candles.
“We Koreans have always admired Sri Lanka for its beauty, peace and tolerance," said Park Hae-yun, director-general of South Asia and Pacific affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
“We can witness this tolerance with the many religious leaders participating here today.”
The pristine and larger diplomatic offices also reflect the expanding bilateral relationship.
“We decided to move to the new chancery building because our previous location did not provide adequate space for visitors,” said Sri Lankan Ambassador Tissa Wijeratne in a welcoming speech.
About 20,000 Sri Lankan migrant workers live in Korea. Most do tough factory jobs.
“It is therefore essential that we provide them with the necessary facilities during their visit to the embassy for consular and welfare matters,” he said, adding “We also lacked space to accommodate our entire staff and needs rooms large enough to expand our activities.”
The Sri Lankan Embassy was previously located in Itaewon for four years. The new address is 347-359 Shindang-dong, near Shindang Station.
“The opening of this new chancery building demonstrates the strong cooperation that has existed between Sri Lanka and Korea throughout the years,” Wijeratne said.
“But there is a growing potential for further cooperation especially in trade, investments, education, tourism, business, information technology and cultural and economic exchanges,” he said.