President Park Geun-hye has stated that a "great harmony” has been forged through the cultural exchanges that take place between Korea and Mexico. She was speaking at the “K Soul in Mexico” performance on April 3 at the Teatro Metropolitan in Mexico City.

The event featured athletes from the Kukkiwon, performers from the boy band Infinite, musicians and dancers from the National Gugak Center and an orchestra and dance troupes from Mexico, emphasizing how sports and the arts in both countries can become one. About 3,000 Mexicans filled the event venue, clapping and cheering enthusiastically throughout the performance and quenching their thirst for taekwondo, traditional Korean music and K-pop.



President Park said, “I just saw the two countries’ collaboration create great harmony. While appreciating the performance, I thought to myself, ‘What if both countries could create good content together and present it to the world.'"

“I would like you to love Korea more, and I will work hard to create more opportunities so that our two countries can have more chances to communicate and to become one through sports and the arts, as we did today,” she said.

The highlight of the event was a taekwondo performance put on by athletes from the Kukkiwon, also known as World Taekwondo Headquarters. Performers showcased some of the most advanced taekwondo techniques, wowing the audience. The Kukkiwon performers finished their show by raising the national flags of both countries, receiving a standing ovation from the audience. .




Prior to the performance, President Park visited the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. She appreciated many of the cultural heritage items remaining from Aztec and Mayan times, while listening to an explanation from Antonio Saborit, the director of the museum. President Park showed her interest in and respect for Mexico after inspecting the museum, which is home to some 600,000 artifacts.

By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Cheong Wa Dae, Yonhap News
arete@korea.kr