"This event can hopefully provide an opportunity for people of the two nations to enhance their friendship."

President Park Geun-hye was speaking on January 23 to Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang during his visit to Korea for the opening ceremony of China Travel Year 2015, a series of tourism promotional events whereby the two nations will focus on the growing number of tourists visiting each other's countries.

President Park said, "The two nations have become ever more close since last year when the heads of both nations agreed at a bilateral summit to increase people-to-people exchanges to around 10 million by 2016, a goal which we have already achieved. Bilateral humanities exchanges have expanded, too, and on top of that great progress has been made by the ROK-China Joint Committee on Humanities Exchanges."


Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang said, "This year, Korea hosts many China Travel Year events, and, next year, in return, a range of Korea Travel Year events will take place across China. These are events of great meaning. There will be a wide array of cultural offerings, amounting to 100 this year, for China Travel Year 2015."

He added that, "The scope of activities of the ROK-China Joint Committee on Humanities Exchanges has expanded twofold. Such exchanges are bringing positive influences on the overall bilateral relationship, including in the economic sector."

Last year when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Korea, the two nations agreed to adopt a joint statement where they designated 2015 as a China Travel Year and 2016 as a Korea Travel Year.


During the opening ceremony for China Travel Year 2015, Deputy Prime Minister Hwang Woo-yea delivered a congratulatory message on behalf of President Park. She said in her letter that, "The bilateral exchange of human resources has tremendously increased, recording 10 million last year, a big jump from 100,000 in 1992, the first year that the two modern states established diplomatic relations. It is not too farfetched to assume that the number of people going back and forth between the two countries will reach 20 million per year."

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, in return, also delivered a message from Chinese President Xi Jinping. "Our two neighboring nations have maintained a great friendship and have shared a long history of cultural exchanges. I believe that the designation of Travel Years in the two nations will help expand bilateral cooperation both in the cultural and tourism sectors, contribute to the development of bilateral relations and encourage increased mutual understanding of people in both nations."


Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jongdeok said during the opening ceremony on January 23 that, "We hope that a lot of information about China -- including unique customs and popular travel destinations -- can be exposed to the Korean people during China Travel Year 2015, so that people can feel more familiar with Chinese culture."

During the opening ceremony, the traditional Chinese dance, "Rain is Sprinkling Like Flowers on the Silk Road," was put on by the Ganshu Sheng dance troupe, a first on Korean soil. The performance premiered in 1979, and has been put on more than 2,600 times in around 30 countries so far. The dance is based on a sad story of a father and a daughter, set along the ancient Silk Road.

By Jeon Han, Lee Seung-ah
Photos: Cheong Wa Dae, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Korea.net Staff Writers
hanjeon@korea.kr