By Kim Eun-young
Photos = Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo Gyoon on Oct. 12 attended the opening ceremony of the Festival Internacional Cervantino (International Cervantino Festival) in Guanajuato, Mexico, with Korea being the guest country.

"Let Korea and Mexico jointly lead an era of cultural prosperity under a close cooperative relationship," he said.

The minister attended the ceremony at the Teatro (Theater) Juarez and discussed cultural exchanges with major figures there.

In talks with Mexican Secretariat of Culture Alejandra Frausto Guerrero, the minister said, "We hope that this festival is an opportunity for both countries to continue deepening understanding of each other through culture."

He also urged Mexican support for Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo.

Marking its 50th edition this year, the festival, which is popularly known as El Cervantino, is the largest gala of general culture and arts in Latin America. To run through Oct. 30, the event features performances and exhibitions by about 2,500 artists from 33 countries.

For this year's festival, Korea has prepared 13 programs in genres like classical and traditional performing arts as well as a K-pop concert.

Soprano Hera Hyesang Park and the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra on Oct. 12 performed at the opening ceremony.

This year's guest country event is part of the yearlong intensive project "Korea Season" to introduce Korean culture to countries with major cultural influence.

Minister Park on Oct. 13 attended the opening ceremony for Casa de Corea (Korea House), where visitors can experience Korean culture.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism selected Mexico, which marks 60 years of ties with Korea this year, as the first cooperative country to host Korea Season. Exchange events under the project included a concert in May to mark the milestone at the Teatro Metropolitan in Mexico City and a visit in July by a taekwondo demonstration team from Kukkiwon, the Seoul-based headquarters of the martial art's world governing body World Taekwondo.

eykim86@korea.kr