By Yoon Sojung

The 11th Korean Day and the 2017 World Korean Community Leaders' Convention opened together on Sept. 27 at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul, where presidents of overseas Korean communities gathered to boost the identity and network of Koreans from around the world.

The opening ceremony was attended by about 500 people, including presidents of Korean resident communities from some 70 countries around the globe.

The ceremony included government merit awards for five selected people. One of them included Seo Yong-dal, an honorary professor at St. Andrew's University Graduate School in Japan, who received the Order of Civil Merit, Rose of Sharon Medal, for fostering talented students by establishing a Korean scholarship association in Japan since 1956.

President Moon Jae-in said in his congratulatory address that, “The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will become Olympics of peace and harmony.”

President Moon emphasized the role of overseas Koreans and presidents of Korean communities by saying that, “In order to build peace on the Korean Peninsula and across Northeast Asia, the role of the 7.4 million overseas Koreans and their communities are quite important.”

During the 2017 World Korean Community Leaders' Convention, scheduled until Sept. 29, presidents of overseas Korean communities will seek measures on how to build a foundation for peace across Northeast Asia and how to help in the successful hosting of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

arete@korea.kr