Immigrants boost Korea's presence in Barcelona
By Yi Whan-woo
Park Chuen-wook
With a year before the 70th anniversary of the Korea-Spain diplomatic treaty, the Korean community in Barcelona is stepping up efforts to expand Korea's presence there.
In January, the consulate-general of Korea reopened in Barcelona following years of campaigns by the Korean immigrants to set up a Korean diplomatic mission and to facilitate people-to-people exchanges, including tourists.
The consulate-general first opened in 1987 and closed in 1993.
The campaign for re-opening was led by Park Chuen-wook, the founder and CEO of taekwondo equipment manufacturer Daedo International in Barcelona.
Park, who also leads the Korean immigrants' association in Barcelona, fostered a discussion on how taekwondo should continue to develop as an international martial art when he hosted the 35th anniversary reception for Daedo International in August 2018. The reception also took place in Barcelona.
Korea and Spain established their diplomatic treaty on March 17, 1950.
The consulate-general in Barcelona joins three other Korean presentations in Spain ― an embassy in Madrid, and consulates in Bilbao and Seville.
The number of Korean immigrants in Barcelona is estimated to be 1,500, while the annual number of tourists from Korea is estimated to be 450,000. This had resulted in calls for the Korean government to protect and offer other adequate services for Korean nationals in Spain's second-largest city.
“It's very heartwarming to see a Korean flag on a street in Gracia,” Park said, referring to a downtown area in Barcelona where the consulate-general opened. “I was literally here and everywhere for the past couple of years to get signatures from the Korean immigrants who supported the idea of reopening the consulate-general.”
Park said he is especially happy to see the reopening before he completes his term as the head of the Korean immigrants' association at the end of the 2019.
Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the consulate-general is expected to help provide quality services to Koreans living or traveling in Barcelona “in a timely manner” and thereby “strengthening the system for protecting Korean nationals in Spain.”
“It is also expected to further increase people-to-people and material exchanges between the two countries,” the ministry added.
The reopening ceremony at Grand Hotel Central drew 200 guests from Spanish central government, the Catalan regional government, Barcelona municipalities and Korean community in Spain.
Among them were Park, Huh Tae-wan, a former director-general for Latin American Affairs of Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs who was named the consul-general, Korean Ambassador to Spain Chun Hong-jo and the foreign ministry's Director-General for European Affairs Jung Ki-hong.
From the Spanish side were Spanish Ambassador to Korea Juan Ignacio Morro Villacian, Teresa Cunillera and Alfred Bosch, both from the Catalan government, and Luis Gomez, a commissioner for economic promotion at Barcelona city government.
The Korean immigrants in Barcelona launched the campaign for re-opening in 2016, collecting signatures from 10,000 supporters and sending them to the foreign ministry and the National Assembly.
Park also visited Korea. He met relevant lawmakers and government officials and explained to them the need to have a diplomatic mission in Barcelona.
During the 55th anniversary of Daedo International, Park invited World Taekwondo (WT) President Choue Chung-won and other WT officials.
Park pledged to ensure Daedo International will remain a favorite brand among taekwondo practitioners.
Choe said Daedo International “plays a very critical role in making taekwondo a fair and objective sport,” and that it has always “strived for the development of taekwondo.”
A native of Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, Park immigrated to Barcelona in 1981 and opened Daedo International two years later.
Daedo International sells uniforms, electronic sparring gear, protective gear and other taekwondo apparel to over 70 countries.