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.
Duque emphasizes Colombia's role as gateway to Latin America
Colombia President Ivan Duque speaks at Seoul City Hall, Thursday, after being awarded honorary citizenship of Seoul. Duque is the 10th Colombian national and the 35th head of state-level figure given the status of honorary Seoul citizen. Yonhap
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Colombian president reaffirms partnership with Korea during state visit
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Colombian President Ivan Duque assessed his first state visit to Korea as "very successful," as the two countries reaffirmed their partnership for innovation, creativity, sustainability and the digital economy.
"We share the common purposes of free market economy, democracy and institutional stability. So having a partner of that nature in Latin America represents an opportunity," Duque said during a press conference wrapping up his visit at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, Thursday.
"We also have a business-friendly framework, because we have a geostrategic position, closed in both oceans. And we have free trade agreements with most of the Western hemisphere. So for Korea, what better reason than to invest in a country that has such a historical strong bond?"
On Thursday morning, the last day of his three-day trip, Duque visited the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and Digital Media City, a high-tech and entertainment complex in western Seoul.
"I was very touched this morning when I visited the Demilitarized Zone, because I saw the flags of all the countries that fought in the Korean War. The only Latin American country that participated in the war was Colombia. More than 5,000 Colombians came into this nation to defend liberty and democracy. More than 230 were killed. Four hundreds were injured. And they gave the best of their life to protect this nation. So there is a brotherhood that has existed since then," Duque said.
"We also visited the technological district here in Seoul that we expect to have the partnership with the creative industries districts in Colombia. So we consider this not only a historical visit but also a very productive visit."
Colombia President Ivan Duque, center, poses during his visit to the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the truce village of Panmumjeom, with Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook, left, and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) commander Gen. Paul LaCamera, Friday. Yonhap
Duque's "Orange Economy" policy puts emphasis on the creative industries, and the Colombian president sees much potential in cooperation with Korea in the field as well, as his country is also developing some 70 creative industry districts around the country.
"I believe that culture has to be an engine of development. When you have culture as a trigger of development, what you're empowering is not only talent, but human capital. And in Colombia, we are very rich in human talent and human capital regarding the arts. So if we make this a growing industry, it will empower youngsters to become agents of change and also empower youngsters to be employed in what their talent is related. And that is something that we have seen also in the Korean creative industries," Duque said.
"Korea has become a leader in the creative industries in Asia, and Colombia has become a leader in the creative industries in Latin America. And we're talking about an industry that can be, in our case, close to 4 percent of GDP and in the case of Korea, it's above that and growing."
During the president's visit, the two countries signed a handful of memorandum of understandings (MOUs) related to cooperation in fields including security and defense, creative industries, healthcare, industry and trade as well as sustainability.
Duque had meetings with officials at the Green Climate Fund and other sustainable development institutions in Korea.
"Colombia is nowadays the leader of energy transition in Latin America. When my administration began, it was just 0.2 percent of the energy matrix what we had in non-conventional renewable (energy). Now we're going to get about 14 percent," Duque said, highlighting the opportunity for Korea to invest in clean energy in Colombia.
"We also launched the clean mobility, or electric vehicle, act ... and data says that the sales of electric vehicles has been reaching exponential levels. ... So I see that as an opportunity for the Korean automobile industry."