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| ▲ South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) and first lady Kim Keon Hee (L) salute the national flag during a dinner with Koreans residing in France at a hotel in Paris on June 19, 2023. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers remarks during a dinner with Koreans residing in France at a hotel in Paris on June 19, 2023. (Yonhap) |
Yoon-Koreans-France
Yoon asks Koreans in France to support Busan Expo bid
By Lee Haye-ah
PARIS, June 19 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol met with a group of Koreans residing in France on Monday and asked for their support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo.
Yoon made the request during a dinner with around 160 Koreans based in France, including musicians, business executives and former French government officials of Korean heritage, shortly after arriving in the country to attend a general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the international body in charge of overseeing the World Expo.
"The people of the Republic of Korea are all running as one to bring the 2030 World Expo to Busan," he said, referring to South Korea by its formal name. Busan is the southeastern port city bidding to host the Expo in competition against Rome, Italy; Odesa, Ukraine; and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
"The Busan World Expo will serve as a venue of opportunity for citizens of the world and future generations, as a platform of solutions to the various crises facing humanity," he said. "I am expecting that fellow Koreans in France will of course gather their strengths as well to help us host the Expo, the desire of the central and local governments, the private and public sectors, and our people."
Yoon said the process of winning the right to host the Expo is known to be more difficult than the process for the Olympics or the World Cup, as each of the 179 BIE member states will cast a secret vote in November.
"If we succeed in hosting, it will open a new horizon of global diplomacy of the Republic of Korea," he said.
Yoon talked about the 137-year history of cooperation between South Korea and France since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties, including France's participation in the Korean War, their shared values of freedom, human rights and the rule of law, and their increasing cooperation in cutting-edge technologies and on global agenda items.
He also recalled the contributions of the Korean diaspora in France to the nation's fight for independence from Japanese colonial rule and thanked the community for their help in returning the remains of Hong Jae-ha (1898-1960), an independence fighter who operated in France, last November.
"South Korea and France are growing closer through culture," he said, citing the more than 200 Korean restaurants in Paris, the Korean-language announcements on the Paris subway, and the growing interest of the French people in Korean music, art and webtoons, which he said has led them to learn Korean.
Yoon also noted that the Overseas Koreans Agency was launched earlier this month in line with one of his campaign pledges, saying it will work to more closely connect the Korean diaspora with their native country.
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