Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Norway
– November 2015
Dear Reader,
In News from Korea this month, we present the following articles:
Norwegian Korean War Veterans Association – General Assembly
Taekwondo National Championship
“Explore the Arctic – Past, Present and Future” exhibit in Seoul
President Park to Turkey, the Philippines and Malaysia
Korea and Iceland summit
Korea and Norway in the World Wheelchair Curling Championship 2016
More gender equality for female workers
The Korean kitchen for dummies
Norwegian Korean War Veterans Association – General Assembly
On 6 November, the Norwegian Korean War Veterans Association held its yearly General Assembly at Akershus Fortress. In addition to the board members of the association, the veterans and their family members, other attendees consisted of the Embassy, the Korean Language School in Oslo, Korean exchange students from the University of Oslo as well as other Korea-related guests.
The event started with a commemoration ceremony where the fallen soldiers were honored. It then continued with a welcome drink and mingling, followed by a delicious dinner consisting of both Korean and Norwegian cuisine. After the dinner, the
Ambassador and the Chairman of the association had their speeches, followed by a presentation from a Korea trip through the Korean Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.
Taekwondo National Championship
On 21 November, the Taekwondo National Championship was held in Stjø rdal where 132 practitioners from 24 clubs across the country participated in both pattern and fight competition. Many of the new champions went home with gold around their necks.
Julie Ramsey from Stjø rdal Atlet Club and Victor Asp from Grorud Taekwondo Club won the prestigious prizes from the Embassy for best female and best male junior
practitioners. In the picture above are the winners with Ambassador Park, Head of section Morgan Nygård and NKF’s president.
This year, the National Championship had its 30th anniversary which was celebrated at the banquet following the competition.
http://kampsport.no/taekwondo-wtf/norgesmesterskapet-2015-2/
“Explore the Arctic – Past, Present and Future” exhibit in Seoul
On 28 October, the “Explore the Arctic – Past, Present and Future” exhibition was opened in Seoul as a collaboration between the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the Fram Museum, the Korea Polar Research Institute and the Korea Foundation. The exhibition lasted until 12 November and displayed posters and videos with detailed information about landscape, ecology, wildlife, indigenous life, scientific research, shipping and sea routes in the polar region.
Norwegian State Secretary Morten Hø glund opened the exhibition and addressed current issues in the High North, such as science and cooperation in the Arctic, and Mr.
Geir Klø ver, Director of the Fram Museum in Oslo, held an educational lecture about
“Fridtjof Nansen and Exploration of the Polar Sea”.
To read more about the exhibition, see
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20151101000321 and
http://www.norway.or.kr/News_and_events/Current-affairs/News/The-Arctic-exhibit- Explore-the-Arctic--Past-Present-and-Future-is-now-officially-opened/#.VlSVn6RRF9A
President Park to Turkey, the Philippines and Malaysia
President Park Geun-hye visited Turkey, the Philippines and Malaysia in order to attend the G20 meeting, the 23rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting, the 178th Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) + 3 Summit, the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the 17th ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit. During the G20 meeting in Turkey, she discussed measures to boost policy cooperation among the G20 countries. In the Philippines during the APEC Summit, the topic was “Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World”, and finally in Malaysia during the ASEAN+3, EAS and Korea- ASEAN meetings, she discussed issues involving the Korean Peninsula and other regional issues.
“Korea and ASEAN will coordinate their efforts for sustainable and mutual growth. The ASEAN-ROK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its revised protocol on commodities will contribute to the expansion of trade and investment. Our government will proceed with preparations for the ASEAN-ROK Cultural Exchange in 2017 as a means of advancing ASEAN-ROK relations,” said President Park in Malaysia.
For more information regarding these meetings, see
http://www.korea.net/Government/Current-Affairs/Foreign-Affairs?affairId=492, http://www.korea.net/Government/Current-Affairs/Foreign-
Affairs/view?affairId=492&subId=526&articleId=131074 and http://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Policies/view?articleId=130994
Korea and Iceland summit
On 9 October, Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson visited Korea and attended a summit hosted by President Park. During the talks, the two heads of state reached an agreement that the two countries would strengthen cooperation on developing a
northern polar shipping route. This would reduce travel from Busan to Rotterdam by around 30% and would lower the travel time by around 10 days, from 40 to 30 days.
Furthermore, the two leaders agreed to push for a consultative meeting to begin next year to discuss policies on the polar region. Other than the Arctic, they shared the view that the two countries should share their expenses and exchange technologies,
including eco-friendly energy, and work together on the global issue of how to deal with the worsening climate change.
Lastly, President Park expressed her hope that the summit will be a good opportunity for the two nations to expand their cooperation further and President Grimsson
responded that the Arctic Circle Assembly has grown into one of the largest platforms in the global community and that Korea has played a crucial part in that process.
http://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Policies/view?articleId=130906
Korea and Norway in the World Wheelchair Curling Championship 2016
Korea and Norway qualified for the World Wheelchair Curling Championship 2016 after both won the semi-final games in the beginning of November. The semi-final rounds were held at the Kisakallio Sports Institute in Finland.
Korea won 9-3 against the Czech Republic and Norway 10-3 against Sweden in the semi-final rounds and thus they secured the two final spots at the championship. The championship will be held from 21-28 February in Lucerne, Switzerland. Here, Korea and Norway will join Russia, China, Finland, Slovakia, USA, Canada, Germany and Switzerland, who have all previously qualified for this event.
The World Wheelchair Curling Championships 2015, 2016 and 2017 all serve as the qualifiers for the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games Wheelchair Curling competition.
For full article, seehttp://www.worldcurling.org/wwhcc2016/korea-and-norway-qualify- for-world-wheelchair-curling-championship-2016
More gender equality for female workers
The Norwegian deputy foreign minister, Morten Hø glund, was interviewed by The Korea Times in Seoul recently, where he addressed a seminar on Asian women’s participation in the workforce.
On his calendar, he has written up days for picking up his 3.5 year old son from
kindergarten. When his wife travels, he has to take him to kindergarten in the mornings.
He informs his colleagues in advance that he will not be able to attend early and late meetings. His mother-in-law steps in for any emergencies.
Seeing the deputy minister’s calendar shows a glimpse of how Norway can manage the high participation of women in the workforce. According to IMF statistics of 2014, 75%
of women in Norway were working in comparison to 50% of women in Korea. Hø glund said the state’s generous policy is an essential factor.
When Høglund’s third son was born, he could take 10 weeks off from work. These 10 weeks are part of the wife’s 47 weeks. The father’s 10 weeks have been made
mandatory so that no father can skip them and give them to the mother.
Moreover, Hø glund said that the flexible working culture was also a contributing factor to women’s high participation in the workforce.
"(It is widely accepted that) leaders do not have to see their employees in the office all the time," he said. "The important thing is that you do your job. As long as you deliver, you can be flexible. My wife can be in her office sometimes at 7 a.m. and go home earlier. Or she can start at 9 a.m. and come home later. Or, she can squeeze a lot of work into one day."
The deputy minister noted that Korea should find its own solution for getting more women into the workforce. "For Korea, it's very much about finding your way within your traditions and the context of your society. It's not necessarily that you copy Norway."
Original article: http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2015/10/113_189846.html
The Korean kitchen for dummies
http://www.godt.no/#!/artikkel/23552410/det-koreanske-kjoekken-for-dummies
