Cherry Blossoms Grace Tournament
By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
As full-blown cherry blossoms graced Mt. Namsan Saturday, foreign diplomats spent their one-day getaway atop the mountain swinging their rackets.
The 4th Diplomatic Tennis Championship took place at the Hyatt Hotel tennis court drawing a nice crowd of players and spectators from the diplomatic community as well as Foreign Affairs-Trade Minister Yu Myung-hwan.
It was a nice combination of old and new faces from 19 countries.
Ambassadors from Bulgaria and Slovakia have participated in the annual event faithfully from its inception in 2005. And this year probably will probably see their last participation as both will return home in summer after serving out their missions here.
Bulgarian Ambassador Alexander Savov said, ``I will bring back home very good memories of friendship that I shared with Korean and international diplomats through the tournament.''
Hungarian Ambassador Miklos Lengyel was one of the new players, who made the occasion a family outing with his wife and son, Daniel.
Lengyel giving his son a tennis lesson and Agnes giving Lengyel a shoulder massage were pleasant sights to see.
Donna Heinsbroek, wife of the Dutch ambassador who said she'd played tennis socially for 31 years, turned out to be quite a serious player, grabbing the championship.
The championship and prize must have been a nice gift for her husband Hans who had just returned from his regular Pyongyang trip. The Dutch envoy said, ``You have no reason to work at home today,'' in his congratulation on her wife's victory.
Just days before the planned summit between President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President George W. Bush, Foreign Affairs-Trade Minister Yu spared his busy time to encourage the diplomats at the tournament. He also showed off his tennis skills during a demonstration match.
Minister Yu said, ``I am convinced that such exchanges among the diplomats in Korea are a constructive means to bolster the mutual understanding between us.''
First Vice Foreign Minister Kwon Jong-rak thanked The Korea Times for arranging the event.
``I extend my deep appreciation to The Korea Times for providing an informal setting where you can enhance your friendship with diplomats through sports.'' Kwon said he hadn't played tennis for years, but practiced twice amid his busy schedule for the tournament.
Choo Kyu-ho, commissioner of the Korea Immigration Service, was a special guest, having participated in the very first event. Although he is working for the Justice Ministry, his present job is very much related to foreign diplomatic matters. Ahead of the planned introduction of the visa waiver program for Koreans traveling to the United States, he has much fine-tuning to do with the U.S..
Seven other ``non-playing'' ambassadors and diplomats came just to support and to hang out with their colleagues for a little while. They are from the embassies of Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Republic of China, and Tunisia.
The Diplomatic Tennis Tournament is an annual sports event hosted by The Korea Times and SK Telecom, supported by MOFAT and the Korean Overseas Culture and Information Service and jointly sponsored by STC, Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul and FILA Korea