ASEAN Culture House in Busan celebrates first anniversary

From Ravichandran D.J. Paul

BUSAN (South Korea), Sept 14 (Bernama) -- The ASEAN Culture House (ACH) in Busan, South Korea celebrated its first anniversary today, marking its successful first year since opening its doors to the public on Sept 1, 2017.

The anniversary bash was graced by South Korea's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun, Vice Mayor of Economic Affairs of Busan Metropolitan City Yoo Jae-soo, President of Korea Foundation (KF) Shiyung Lee and diplomats from ASEAN member states.

Malaysian Embassy Charge d' Affaires Shaharuddin Onn, Singapore's Ambassador to South Korea Yip Wei Kiat and Cambodian Ambassador Long Dimanche were among the diplomats who joined the cake-cutting session during the event.

In his opening speech, Cho highlighted that the ACH was the testament of South Korean President Moon Jae-in' seriousness in building a people centred, peace loving and mutually prosperous community through his New Southern policy encompassing the whole of ASEAN.

Earlier, when met by a three-member media team from Bernama, Shiyung noted that the ACH, which is under the purview of KF, was part of the South Korean government's effort to establish a more balanced relationship with ASEAN member states.

“Many diplomats have voiced concerns that the ASEAN-KOREA relations are not well balanced, not only from the trade viewpoint. ASEAN people buy Korean products, are allured by the K-Pop culture, and regard highly of South Korea. Yet the Korean people are not much aware of the diverse ASEAN in terms of culture and history,” he said adding that this is probably what prompted the creation of ACH.

“The ACH promotes ASEAN in South Korea, and it’s one of its kind as there is no other similar setups to promote any other regional groupings. It goes to show how much South Korea values ASEAN,” he said.

The ACH, which was built at a cost of USD50 million on the land provided by the Busan Metropolitan Council, is managed by the KF, an entity created through a legal charter to complement the foreign ministry's diplomacy.

Since opening its door last year, ACH has seen more than 25,000 visitors in numerous activities.

Its exhibition halls not only showcase numerous items linked to cultures and communities within ASEAN, but also screen virtual reality video clips of numerous historical sites within ASEAN.

A unique kitchen for Koreans to learn the recipes of ASEAN delicacies appears to be a big draw at the ACH.

Plans are afoot to roll out lectures and symposiums relating to ASEAN soon.

Shiyung also pointed out since opening the doors, the ACH had carried out programmes with themes like “Understanding ASEAN” in which each of the 10 member states were highlighted each month through numerous activities.

Meanwhile, many of the ASEAN diplomats present at the anniversary bash, including Shaharuddin, noted that they were happy to see South Korea taking so much trouble to establish meaningful exchanges with ASEAN.

They also concurred that ACH rhymed well with the New Southern Policy promoted by the country's president Moon.

-- BERNAMA