Hungary


Unveiling of composer Ahn Eak-tai statue: Koreans and Hungarians unveil the statue of Korean composer Ahn Eak-tae (1906-1965) at City Park Varosligetin in Budapest, Hungary, May 11. From left are Papcsak Ferenc, mayor of the 14th District; Andrea Szego, president of the Hungary-Korea Society; Ahn's daughter Leonor Ahn; Kim Hyung-ju, vice mayor of Seoul; Nam Gwan-pyo, Korean ambassador to Hungary; and Csomos Miklos, vice mayor of Budapest. Seoul spent 300 million won to build the statue of the composer who studied there from 1938 to 1941. / Courtesy of Andrea Szego

Germany


Thanking Volkswagen Korea: Volkswagen Korea's Managing Director Park Dong-hoon, center, poses for a photo after receiving a letter of recognition from the company's headquaters and the city of Dresden at the Germany ambassador's residence in Seoul, Wednesday. Volkswagen and Dresden commended his contribution to promoting Korea-Germany relations. Dresden houses a Volkswagen eco-friendly factory where the Phaeton, a sedan, is being manufactured. Left is Dirk Hilbert, vice mayor of Dresden; and right is Hans-Ulrich Seidt, the German ambassador to Korea.



Photo exhibition launch: Daniel Briceno, second from left, first secretary at the Venezuelan Embassy in Seoul, speaks at the opening ceremony of the photo exhibition, "A View to Latin America and the Caribbean," at the Korea Foundation Cultural Center in Seoul, Tuesday. From left are Kim Woo-sang, president of the Korea Foundation; Briceno; Jamie Cabal, Colombian ambassador to Korea; and Angelino Garzon, vice president of Colombia. The exhibition, featuring works by 15 photographers, will continue through June 9.

Italy

The Italian Embassy will host the "Korea-Italy Symposium on Global Climate Change" at Ewha Womans University in Seoul on May 22
The symposium, co-hosted by the Office of Science and Technology at the embassy and the Center for Climate/Environment Change at Ewha, will be focused on climate change and the ensuing global warming, the most crucial environmental issue in the world.
Seven scientists from Italy and Korea will present papers on the issue and discuss international positions and approaches of the two countries, offering a snapshot of Korean and Italian perceptions about how climate change is affecting both countries.
For more information, contact the Italian Embassy (02) 7500-200, sciencekor@yahoo.it

Ireland

Ireland is inviting nominations for the newly-inaugurated annual Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad.
Nominees have to be Irish, those entitled to Irish citizenship or those of Irish descent, while being actively engaged in their Irish communities abroad for five years or longer.

Ireland will select 10 from the nominations, who will be awarded in October.

An embassy official said that this is not an honors system and it will not confer any legal entitlements, benefits or titles upon the recipients.

Nominations for the award should be forwarded to the embassy in Seoul by email (seoulembassy@dfa.ie) by May 25.

For more information, call (02) 774-6455, or visit the website: http://www.embassyofireland.or.kr