Singaporean Choir Augured Prosperous 2009
By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
With a feel of Lunar New Year still lingering, Singaporean Ambassador Thai Keong Chua wished a happy New Year to Korea through a Singaporean music performance.
Last Monday, just a week after the lunar New Year holiday, Ambassador Thai Keong Chua invited guests to a reception, introducing Victoria Chorale, a musical group he described as one of the best voice groups in Singapore. The group, consisting of nearly 50 young men and women, was on a tour in Korea.
They performed the next day on Tuesday evening at Seoul Art Center.
The team has won many awards globally, the ambassador said while introducing the team proudly, adding it has performed in Europe and China.
It was its first time performing in Korea. ``I hope they come back,'' Chua said.
He also wished for a more cooperative relationship between Korea and Singapore in 2009, especially in the economic downturn hurting the economies of both countries.
``This is a very challenging year, given the global economy. Our bilateral relations are excellent. I think we can work together because we are both trading nations,'' Chua told The Korea Times.
Both Korea and Singapore's economies heavily rely on exports.
Insufficient natural resources and development on human capital are also shared factors from which the two nations have outgrown to become two of the biggest economies in Asia.
Korea and Singapore established diplomatic relations in 1975.
Considered twp of Asia's economic tigers, Korea and Singapore have enjoyed similar economic growth over the last couple of decades. Korea, however, had to deal with a financial crisis in 1997 that slowe development, whereas Singapore forged ahead, resulting in a twofold difference in GDP.
As of 2008, according to the CIA World Factbook, Singapore's GDP per capita was $52,900 and Korea's was $27,100.
In terms of bilateral trade, the figure has surpassed $18.9 billion in 2007 with a deficit of $5 billion on the Singaporean side. Investment in Singapore from Korea reached $2 billion in 2006.
Personal exchanges reflect the extent of the ties. In 2008 alone, 421,000 Koreans visited Singapore and 95,960 conversely, according to the Singaporean Tourism Board. Singapore is home to 13,700 Korean immigrants.