Korea India Innovation Centre offers to connect Indian innovators, startups with Korean counterparts 

NEW DELHI: The Korea-India Innovation Centre (KIIC) has offered to connect Indian innovators and startups with their counterparts in South Korea for mutually beneficial collaborations, for venturing into new global markets.

Set up at the Amity Innovation Incubator, Noida in collaboration with the Government of Seoul, South Korea, the KIIC facilitates the cross movement of startups from both the countries for a soft landing in each other’s zones.

“The Korea-India Innovation Centre in Noida we will be ringing in startups from South Korea for a soft landing into India and also taking startups from India for a soft landing into Korea at the government incubator we have set up in Seoul. This is another example of how in the world of entrepreneurship there can be tries between the two countries as both the sides have been very excited about the prospects of collaborating in innovation entrepreneurship,” said Dr. Aseem Chauhan, Chancellor, Amity University Haryana (AUH). He was speaking on the occasion of the 2-day Korean Culture Day event held on the university campus in Gurugram on November 6.

Dr. Chauhan called upon the innovators in India and said. “If they want to take their startups to Korea, they can approach us. We will connect them with the administrator of the Korea India Innovation Centre. By doing so, they can tie up with some of the Korean startups to identify markets and new innovations for themselves.”

AUH organized the Korean Culture Day in collaboration with the Korean Cultural Center, New Delhi The event witnessed participation from various universities in and around Delhi-NCR as well as Korean cultural/Korean community.

The two-day event witnessed glimpses of Korean Culture which includes K-Pop Solo Singing-Inter University Competition, K-Pop Group Dance-Inter University Competition, Decision making & Prize distribution ceremony, Taekwondo Demonstration, Taekwondo Workshop, Samulnori performance by Samulnori team from KCCI and Korean Movie. The event highlights was a skit where the students enacted ‘The Voyage of Love: Legend of Suri Ratna and Kim Suro’, Fan Dance; K Pop singing that enthralled the audience. It will be open for the public till November 7.

Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Shin Bong-kil who reached the occasion with his wife Hwang Mee-sook emphasized the rapid growth in the bilateral relations including economic opportunities and cultural exchanges.

He gave the reference of K Pop (Korean Pop) which first started to gain fame in the North East of India has gained tremendous popularity amongst Indian youths across different India states.

He lauded Amity School of Languages, AUH for its academic endeavors in promoting the Korean language by including it in its syllabus being offered to Indian students. He further added that the 2-day cultural program to be showcased in the Korean Culture Day will give a kaleidoscopic view of India-Korea cultural exchanges and ties.

Dr. Aseem Chauhan, Chancellor, AUH, reflected back on his personal good relationship with the Korean Ambassador, thanked him for his diplomatic endeavor which has helped in further deepening of the Indo-Korea bilateral relationship. He also talked about the role of a foreign language in collaborations and interactions between countries and cultures.

Till now, Korean language is only offered in Gurugram campus but observing the growing popularity and demand in the corporate field of Korean speaking language professionals, Korean language as a subject will also be included in the other branches of Amity University, Dr Chauhan added

Prof. Vyjayanti Raghavan, Centre for Korean Studies, JNU emphasized the role Korea played in the South East Asia political and cultural dynamics. Work culture and collective behavior which Koreans exhibits should be imbibed by us, she added.

Kim Kum Pyoung, Director, KCC, New Delhi stole the show and earned huge amount of applause and cheers from the audience as he started his address in Hindi language by greeting them as Namaskar doston (Hello friends), Aaj main aapse mil kar bahut khush hoon (I am glad to meet you today).

He said, “I am a descendant of the Indian princess and also a Buddhist, and already a member of Amity University. Indian princess went to Korea to get married to Korean King some 2000 years back. Korean first lady visited Ayodhya and inaugurated Korean park.  Korea was a Buddhist country for more than 1000 years and still, more than 23 percent of people in Korea are Buddhist. It means they consider India as their holy land.”

Prof P B Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, AUH, Gurugram in his address titled ‘India’s Cultural Heritage for Global Peace and Harmony’ explained about the importance of foreign culture.

“It has gradually become very important to have interaction at a cultural level. The understanding of the cultural aspects is also necessitated for meaningful verbal communication in every aspect of the society ranging from business to education.

He emphasized on the widening of vital cultural and spiritual dimensions and giving our best to humanity at large.

Prof. Padmakali Banerjee, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Amity University Gurugram cited her own example of how the Korean brands had become routine lives of the Indians.

“Whether it is LG refrigerator, Samsung phone or Kia Motors cars, all of these Korean products are part of our daily lifestyle and also have become an integral part of our lives. Not only we at Amity are teaching the Korean language to more than 350 students but we have touched the lives of many families too. Also, we have One-Asia projects and joint publications with Korean universities. Also, there are progressive economic ties between these two countries,” said Prof. Padmakali Banerjee.

The PVC also talked about the necessity of multidisciplinary studies as a pathway to newer areas and avenues between India and Korea.

Prof A K Tiku, HOD, Amity School of Languages in said, “The aim of this program is to promote Korean Culture and Language among the youth of India. These events and many more such planned activities will not just ensure the overall academic development of students but also enrich and sharpen their social acumen to mold them into a better version of themselves. Promoting bilateral ties is also in line with the Government policy of developing strategic relations with Korea.”

Another attraction of the session on November 6 was the family of Prof. Santosh K Gupta, comprising of his wife of Korean nationality and their two children. Dr. Chauhan called the family on to the stage and termed it the live example of India Korea collaboration.

Prof. Geetikia Agarwal offered a vote of thanks to the culminating inaugural session.

Maj Gen B S Suhag (Retd.), Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. UN Singh, Dean, Faculty of Arts, Maj Gen G S Bal (Retd), Dr. Gunjan M Sanjeev, Dr. Vikas Madhukar, were also present on the occasion.