President Yoon Suk Yeol (second from left) and first lady Kim Keon Hee (left) on a state visit to Uzbekistan on June 15 pose for a photo with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and his wife in front of Gur-e-Amir, a mausoleum in the ancient Uzbek city of Samarkand, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, of the 14th-century conqueror and Timurid Empire founder Tamerlane. (Yonhap News)
By Charles Audouin
Korea and Uzbekistan will boost bilateral cooperation in culture, sports and tourism.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on June 17 announced its signing of a letter of intent on cultural cooperation on June 14 in Tashkent with the Uzbek Ministry of Culture and Sports.
The signing's purpose was to promote friendly bilateral relations through culture on the occasion of President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visits to three Central Asian countries.
The gist of the letter is exchange and cooperation between cultural institutions of the two nations such as museums and libraries as well as experts in the arts; joint participation in cultural events scheduled in both countries; and expanded exchange across the culture sector including cooperation among sports organizations.
The Korean ministry will thus host in October next year an exhibition on revisiting the past and future of the Silk Road at the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju. Another project is the launch of an Asian storytelling committee with Uzbek participation to find and introduce stories from both countries.
The number of Sejong Arts Academy branches in Uzbekistan will be doubled from three last year to six this year. In sports, a taekwondo tournament in Uzbekistan in September will get Korean government support.
In tourism, Seoul will stimulate travel to Uzbekistan for medical and educational purposes through the newly established Korea Tourism Organization office in the Central Asian nation's capital of Tashkent. Additionally, a Korean pavilion at the Tashkent International Tourism Fair in November will seek to promote tourism in Korea.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In Chon said, "The signing of this letter of intent on cultural cooperation is the starting point for the further expansion of Uzbekistan's interest in Korea and boost closeness between the people of both countries."
Five years after forming a special strategic partnership with Korea, Uzbekistan last year led Central Asia by sending 45.8% (52,480) of the region's visitors to Korea. The number of students at Uzbekistan's seven King Sejong Institute branches also surged from 1,873 in 2021 to 5,869 last year.
caudouin@korea.kr
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