Mona Visitor's Lodge to host Korea-Jamaica Friendship Week
Published:Friday | November 10, 2017 | 12:00 AMPaul Clarke
The Embassy of South Korea will host a reception next week to celebrate Korea-Jamaica Friendship Week and commemorate the 55th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
The reception, set for November 14, will be held at the Mona Visitors' Lodge and Conference Centre at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
The week-long celebration will feature Korean cuisine and liquor alongside Jamaican dishes, and guests will be treated to K-pop music videos (Korean pop music) and the screening of public relations videos from Korea.
In addition, 20 photos of Korea's major attractions will be on display, and a photo zone with a background of a night view of Seoul, Korea, will be set up for guests to take pictures with models wearing the hanbok (Korean traditional dress).
Korean film festival
The Palace Cineplex at Sovereign Centre will host a two-day Korean film festival, November 15-16 and will give Jamaicans a taste of the Korean movie landscape.
Young Gyu Lee, the South Korean ChargÈ d'Affaires, said that he was pleased to host the function in Jamaica, telling The Gleaner that it was designed to strengthen the existing cultural bonds between Korea and Jamaica.
"This celebration of friendship between our countries will strengthen our relationship going forward. Korea has been a friend to Jamaica for more than 50 years and will remain a strong partner as we continue sharing our culture, our way of life, and other mutual bonds with you," Lee said.
"Jamaica is a delightful country, with some similarities to Korea. I am very happy to be serving my nation here," Lee added.
Jamaica and Korea inked diplomatic ties in 1962, the same year Jamaica gained independence from Britain, and since then, the relationship has prospered, primarily through grant aid and technical cooperation with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
KOICA was established in 1991 by the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade as a governmental organisation for Official Development Assistance to enhance the effectiveness of South Korea's grant aid programmes for developing countries by implementing the Government's grant aid and technical cooperation programmes.