Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Central American countries celebrate independence in tree-planting ceremony
Diplomats from seven Central American and Caribbean countries and the Korea Forest Service (KFS) officials pose at the Korea National Arboretum in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, May 31, after planting trees in commemoration of the 200th independence anniversary of six Central American countries as well as the 30th anniversary of the Central American Integration System (SICA). From left are KFS International Affairs Bureau Director General Park Eun-sik, Embassy of Dominican Republic counsellor Alex Pina, Costa Rica Ambassador Alejandro Rodriguez Zamora, Nicaragua Ambassador Rodrigo Coronel Kinloch, KFS Minister Choi Byeong-am El Salvador Ambassador Milton Alcides Magana Herrera, Panama Ambassador Athanasio Kosmas Sifaki, Honduras Ambassador Virgilio Paredes Trapero, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations representative in Korea Tang Shengyao; Guatemala Ambassador Marco Tulio Chicas Sosa and Korea National Arboretum Director General Choi Young-tae. Courtesy of Embassy of Honduras
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Seven embassies of Central American and Caribbean countries in Korea celebrated the 200th independence anniversary of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama as well as the 30th anniversary of the Central American Integration System (SICA) by planting trees at the Korea National Arboretum in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, May 31.
Ambassadors of the six countries as well as a representative of the Dominican Republic's Embassy gathered to sign a joint communique to “pledge solidarity to respond to global climate change, recognizing that acting together is the only way to make a sustained change."
The tree-planting ceremony was held in collaboration with the Korea Forest Service (KFS), and its Minister Choi Byeong-am explained to them how Korea achieved forest rehabilitation by planting more than 10 billion trees since the implementation of the National Reforestation Program.
The envoys welcomed Korea's pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and its commitment to expanding official development assistance (ODA) focused on developing countries' climate actions and green growth.
They also recognized Korea's successful organization of the P4G Summit, the first multilateral environmental summit hosted by Korea, where the importance of a green recovery was highlighted as a key strategy to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the embassies, it is estimated that Central America is home to 8 percent of the Earth's biodiversity, and although the region produces the least emissions, it is one of the most vulnerable to climate change.