1. On February 4, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova to exchange views on ways for the Republic of Korea and UNESCO to work together in a wide range of fields, including education, culture and science. Director-General Bokova is on a visit to the ROK to attend the commemorative event for the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO.
* During her visit to the ROK from February 2 through 5, the Director-General will pay courtesy calls on the President and the National Assembly Speaker; deliver a lecture to diplomat candidates at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA); and receive the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit Gwanghwa Medal at the recommendation of the ROK Foreign Ministry.
2. Minister Yun commended the efforts of Madame Bokova, who is on her fourth visit to the ROK since taking office in 2009 as the first-ever female Director-General of UNESCO, to advance the ROK-UNESCO relations. Congratulating Madame Bokova on her success at winning another term as Director-General in November 2013, the Minister voiced his hope that during her days in office, UNESCO will continue playing a noble role as an international organization that “constructs the defenses of peace in the minds of men” as stipulated in the UNESCO Constitution.
° Minister Yun elaborated on the ROK government’s aim to enhance its international standing as a cultural country through “cultural enrichment,” one of its policy priorities. He added that the ROK will contribute to the development of developing countries by sharing its development experiences with them. Furthermore, he expressed his hope that the ROK and UNESCO will work together to seek out creative cooperation projects for developing countries.
3. Bringing attention to the ROK’s accession to the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in November 2013 to join international efforts to preserve world heritage, the Minister highlighted the intention of the ROK as a WHC member to help heritage with “outstanding universal values (OUV),” which deserves to be enjoyed and protected by humanity, be registered on the World Heritage List.
° Minister Yun pointed out that Japan’s moves to have the “Modern Industrial Heritage Sites in Kyushu and Yamaguchi” inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage run counter to the basic spirit of the world heritage system, as those sites are fraught with bitter memories of forced Korean laborers during the Japanese colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. He asked for attention and support of Director-General Bokova in this regard. In response, the Director-General mentioned that the world heritage system should contribute to integration, and not division and conflict, among countries concerned.
4. Director-General Bokova, highlighting the importance of “culture” for sustainable development, mentioned that “culture and development” has been chosen as one of the UN’s post-2015 agenda to be discussed at the high-level “thematic debate” in September 2014, and asked for active participation of the ROK government. In addition, she expressed her hope that the 2015 World Conference on Education will serve as an opportunity for the ROK to share its development experiences with the international community.
° In response, Minister Yun commended the Director-General’s efforts to raise international awareness on the pivotal role of culture in the development process and voiced his willingness to take an active part in the UN’s thematic debates on “culture and development.”
5. Minister Yun touched upon the ROK’s plan to build a World Peace Park in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) as a symbolic project of the Trust-building Process on the Korean Peninsula and asked for UNESCO’s attention and support in this regard. Director-General Bokova responded by expressing her support, saying that the DMZ World Peace Park initiative comes into line with the principle and the direction of UNESCO.
Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA
* unofficial translation