Ministers of culture raise their joint agreement during the second Korea-Central Asia Culture Ministers’ Meeting, at the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju on Nov. 25.
Korea and five Central Asian countries have agreed to host a Korea-Central Asia festival in 2017 that will cover culture and tourism. They have also agreed to hold meetings among culture ministers on a regular basis.
The second Korea-Central Asia Culture Ministers’ Meeting took place at the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju on Nov. 25, with Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jongdeok and his counterparts from five Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — in attendance. During the meeting, the six culture ministers adopted a joint agreement to focus on cultural exchanges among Korea and its Central Asian neighbors.
Minister Kim said, “In order to develop cultural exchanges and cooperation among Korea and Central Asia in a more harmonious, continued manner, we have decided to host a culture ministers’ meeting on a regular basis.”
In order to launch cultural exchanges, the ministers agreed to host exchanges involving writers and artists from the six countries. They also discussed measures to help restore and make use of cultural and historical heritage. The joint agreement includes a clause about hosting a festival on culture and tourism in both Korea and the Central Asian region to mark the 25th anniversary of Korea-Central Asia diplomatic relationships.
Meeting attendees exchanged opinions about various sectors, including the arts industry, cultural heritage, tourism and sports.
Finally, they hosted an opening ceremony for the Asia Culture Center, which opened that day, and discussed ways to jointly use the center for cultural exchanges.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jongdeok (left) leads the second Korea-Central Asia Culture Ministers’ Meeting on Nov. 25 in Korea.
Culture ministers from Korea and five Central Asian countries discuss measures to boost cultural exchanges.
By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Jeon So-hyang, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
arete@korea.kr
