Golden Jubilee: South Korea, India to celebrate 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in Year 2023
Bilateral consular relations were established in 1962 which was upgraded to Ambassador-level in 1973.
NEW DELHI: The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in collaboration with the India-Korea Friendship Society hosted the India-Korea Friendship Evening in New Delhi on Tuesday, November 30.
The packed auditorium of the Eros Hotel witnessed delegates from India and South Korea alike.
South Korean Ambassador Chang Jae-bok (장재복) in his opening address expressed his gratitude to the India-Korea Friendship Society for its work towards furthering the growth of bilateral relations.
He pledged his support towards nurturing bilateral relations to new heights, especially as the year 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Korea and India.
India-Republic of Korea (RoK) relations have made great strides in recent years and have become truly multidimensional, spurred by a significant convergence of interests, mutual goodwill, and high-level exchanges. Bilateral consular relations were established in 1962 which was upgraded to Ambassador-level in 1973. In course of time, RoK’s open market policies and the New Southern Policy found resonance with India’s economic liberalization, ‘Look East Policy’ as well as “Act East Policy”.
The India-Korea Friendship Evening event on Tuesday included taekwondo performance and K-Pop dance performance as well as Buddhist dance drama ‘Nirvana’ depicting the life of the Buddha and his enlightenment and dance performance with the androgynous depiction of the Hindu God Shiva.
The cultural night served as a platform to increase mutual bilateral understanding.
Some of the delegates from the Embassy included the Defence Attaché Capt. Choi Yongse-Ok. Prof. Do Young Kim Prof. Do Young Kim, Honorary Director, Korean Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi was also there with his wife.
There was a huge representation from Korean War Veterans Association also.
The event was attended by a large number of senior executives from the South Korean companies based in Delhi and NCR towns including Gurugram (Gurgoan) and Noida including Hyundai Motor India, Doosan Power Systems India, and many other component supplier companies of Samsung such as Jworld Co. Ltd, YH Engineering, and others.
India-Korea Friendship Society is represented by its patron Ambassador Shashank Former Foreign Secretary, and Board of governors includes Chairperson S.R. Tayal Former Ambassador to ROK, Vice-Chairperson Vishnu Prakash Former Ambassador to ROK, Jagdip Singh Chairman SIGMA Group, Rajive Kaul CMD, NICCO Group, Director General Avinash P. Gandhi the Former President of Hyundai Motor India, and Secretary-General Parth Sarma President, Corporate Development, Reliance Group.
The members include Chang Ho-seung Minister-Counselor Embassy of ROK, Park Euy Don President, Federation of Korean Associations and CEO, Seela Infratech, Dr. M. Ramachandran Former Secretary, Urban Development, Anil Wadhwa Former Secretary (East), VM. Bansal Chairman, NDIM, H.S.Duggal Chairman, MINAR Group, Dr. Vinod K. Verma, VP, Aditya Birla Group, N.K.Taneja, CEO, Taneja Strategy, and Sandeep Arya CEO, AMTRAK.
