ACTIVITIES OF THE AMBASSADOR
Ambassador’s visits to Medical University of Pleven
On the 15th of January Ambassador Shin visited the Medical University of Pleven. There he met with the Rector of the University Prof. Slavcho Tomov and other representatives. The Ambassador got acquainted with the university activities, the English language program and the opportunities for exchange of Korean students. H.E. Mr. Shin visited the Telecommunications endoscopic centre and was introduced to the research and development priorities of the institution.
In the month of February representatives of the Medical University of Pleven visited Seoul, Korea in order to further develop the mutual cooperation in the sphere of education.
BULLETIN
OF THE EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
January- March 2014
World Trade Center, 7A Floor 36 Dragan Tsankov Blvd, Sofia 1040, Bulgaria; +359-2-971-2181, Email: koreanembassy.bg@gmail.com
Web: http://bgr.mofat.go.kr
Facebook: Korean Embassy in Bulgaria
Ambassador Shin met with the Chair of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria
The opening ceremony of "Smart Classroom" - Plovdiv
On the 17th of January, upon initiative of the Ambassador, was carried out a meeting with high-level officials from the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The main purpose of the visit of the Ambassador was to present the official invitation from the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Korea for participation in the Third Congress of the World Conference in Constitutional Law, which will take place in Seoul, between 28th September-1st October 2014. During the meeting other issues of bilateral interests were discussed.
On 10 February 2014 , "Kiril Popov" School of Mathematics - Plovdiv, became the first school in the city,
equippedwith "Smart Classroom", which is a joint project with SAMSUNG and "Junior Achievement Bulgaria"(JA project). The digital classroom was opened at the ceremony, which was attended by Ambassador Shin Maeng - ho, Ivan Totev - Mayor of Plovdiv, Stefan Stoyanov - Deputy Mayor of Plovdiv, and representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science and others.
When JA project was launched, in September 2013, "Frederic Joliot-Cuire" 34th School - Sofia turned out to be the first beneficiary, receiving the advanced digital techonology "Smart Classroom."
Supporting the Korean Business in Bulgaria
International Conference for Korean Studies
On the 26th Feb, 2014, the 4th International Conference for Korean Studies was held at the Center for Korean Studies in Sofia, organized by Sunagkyunkwan University and “St. KlimentOhridski” Sofia University.
The theme of this year was “Comparative Analysis of the Decolonization in Bulgarian and in Korea”. H.E.
Ambassador Shin Maeng-ho, in his welcome speech, pointed out that this conference lays a precious opportunity for increasing the understanding between the two countries, based upon the commonality in history. Also he complimented the efforts and works of the concerned professors in both universities, and appreciated the support of the Academy of Korean Studies for realizing the conference. In particular, this year the conference was attended by the professors and academic circles not only from Bulgaria and Korea, but also from Austria, Slovenia, and Macedonia.
On the 12th of February, Ambassador Shin together with the Korean businessman Mr. Seol paid a visit to the Telish region in Pleven. The visit is in relation to a planned investment by Mr. Seol for creating a mushroom factory that is expected to create employment for more than 150 Bulgarian local citizens. Mr. Seol has already rented property and land in Telish with the assistance of the Bulgarian National Company “ Industrial Zones”.
During this trip, Ambassador Shin managed to visit the property, see its condition and learn more about the business initiative of Mr.Seol. His project will be of great social benefit for the region, especially since Pleven is still considered part of the underdeveloped regions of Bulgaria.
Ambassador Shin explores possibilities for future cooperation with different Bulgarian regions
On the 7th of March Ambassador Shin made his first visit to Smolyan. He was welcomed by the mayor Mr.
Nikolay Melemov and by the governor Mr. Dimitar Krastanov. During the meeting they discussed topics such as the results and effects of Korean-Bulgarian IT Cooperation Center, and the feasibility of prologation and
expansion of the cooperation with the town of Smolyan and with other areas. Along with this, they commented on the regional development strategies, mountain tourism, current standings of economy and industry in the regions.
As part of the Ambassador’s effort to develop the bilateral relations between Bulgaria and the Republic of Korea, on the 15th of January he paid a visit to Vidin.
There he had meetings with the Governor Mr. Spasov, as well as the Deputy Mayor of the city Mr. Dilov. During the meeting possibilities for cooperation were discussed, especially in the sphere of organic farming. On both sides a willingness was expressed to broaden the partnership in different aspects in the foreseeable future.
Meeting with Minister of Labor and Social Policy Mr. Hasan Ademov
DEVELOPMENT OF THE BILATERAL RELATIONS
Introducing the Korea Knowledge Sharing Program to the Bulgarian Government
On the 11th of March H.E. Shin Maeng-ho met with the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Dr. Hasan Ademov. The counterparts underlined the importance of the bilateral cooperation and expressed their hope for closer contacts and mutual projects in the sphere of labor and social policy.
During the meeting were discussed opportunities for exchange of Korean and Bulgarian professionals in different spheres, as well as the procedures for accepting foreign workers in Bulgaria.
During the month of January, H.E. Shin Maeng-ho carried out a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Development Mrs. Daniela Bobeva. The main purpose of the meeting was to introduce and provide detailed information to Deputy Prime Minister Bobeva on Korea’s Knowledge Sharing Program /KSP/. Korea has achieved remarkable economic growth and development out of the ashes of the Japanese Occupation and the Korean War.
As partner countries’ interests in Korea’s experience in accomplishing such rapid economic growth grew exponentially, Korea recognizes knowledge sharing as an effective tool for development and has actively been sharing knowledge for development.
Knowledge Sharing Program, a new paradigm of development cooperation, is the result of such efforts. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance of the Republic of Korea launched the Knowledge Sharing Program in 2004, aimed at sharing its development know-how, assisting the partner countries and working toward lessening the knowledge divide.
The Knowledge Sharing Program is an excellent opportunity for the Bulgarian governmental and civil institutions to partner with Korean counterparts for the expansion of the economic development of Bulgaria in many different areas.
15-year Anniversary of Sofia Municipal Daily Care Center
Welcome to Bulgaria
Ambassador Shin Maeng - ho visited Sofia Municipal Daily Care Center for Social Rehabilitation of the Disabled on 10 Februrary, 2014 along with staffs of the Embassy, which celebrated its 15th anniversary, on the very date.
The Day Care Center was built in 1999 with the financial support of the Korean government. At the ceremony, many guests and friends were invited including Mrs. Albena Atanasova - Deputy Mayor of Municipality Sofia, Ms. Mina Vladimirova - Director of the Directorate "Social Activities", and representatives of the Korean community in Bulgaria.
The clients of the Center welcomed the guests with performances of singing and danding, and later they joined together in various kinds of games. Korean Embassy enriched the list of the library, donating books and publications.
In 2013 the Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) for Student Exchange Program was signed between
“William Gladstone” 18th School in Sofia and SANG-IL Girls’ High School in Seoul. Between 12~21 Feb. 2014, the first delegation visited Bulgaria, as set in the MoU. H.E. Ambassador Shin Maeng-ho invited the
delegation, on 20 Feb., and exchanged greetings with them. In his welcome address, he pointed out that the bilateral relations between two countries would grow continuously, based upon the common aspects in history and in culture. He encouraged them to pay careful attention and more affection to Bulgaria and to take an increasing role in the development of bilateral cooperation and cultural exchange in the future.
Visit to Korea by Mr. Petko Doykov, Director General of Bilateral Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria
Representatives of the Korean company BioCon visit Bulgaria to present their unique system for Mechanical Biological Treatment of Municipal Solid Waste
Between 20th -22nd of February, 2014 Mr.Petko Doykov, Director General of Bilateral Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria paid a visit to Seoul. During his visit, he had meetings with Mr. Lee Kyung-soo, Deputy Minister for Political Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Ha Tae-youk, Director General for European Affairs, Mr. Kim Moon-hwan, Director General for International Organizations; Mr. Noh Kyu-duk, Director General for the Korean Peninsula Peace Regime.
Mr. Doykov also met with the Chairperson of the Korea-Bulgaria Parliamentary Friendship Group in the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea- Mr. Kim Young Woo. Among others of his meeting with Korean counterparts were Mr. Kim Hee Yong, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Bulgaria. During all the meetings were discussed topics of bilateral cooperation.
On the 13th of March, 2014, representatives of the respected Korean company BioCon visited Sofia and with the association of the Korean Embassy and KOTRA Bulgaria they made
several presentations in front of representatives from the Bulgarian municipalities of Vratsa, Kurjali, Varna, Sofia and the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water.
The company presented its unique technology for mechanical biological treatment of municipal solid waste. The system is significantly eco friendly, less energy consuming and with lower CO2 emissions. The BioCon representatives also visited Kurjali’s waste disposal depo. BioCon is one of the best companies in its sphere, has received many prizes for being environmentally friendly by the Korean government.
THE FINAL RESULT OF 2014 KGSP-UNDERGRADUATE
On 17th January National Institute for International Education announced the final result for Korea Government Scholarship Program for Undergraduate. In particular, we are very proud of the Bulgarian beneficiaries and wish them good luck in academic life in Korea - Monika Kenova(Konkuk University, English Language and Literature), Valeriya Aleksandrova(Yonsei University, English Language and Literature). Those students have already begun their studying process in Korea in the month of February, 2014.
In addition to this, the nine Bulgarian finalists for the “Study in Korea” scholarships for Master’s degree have also been chosen by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Bulgaria and we are waiting for their final approval. The program will start in September 2014.
SOFIA OPEN 2014
H. E. Ambassador SHIN Maeng-ho delivered the opening message for the first international taekwondo
tournament in Olympic Version WTF "Sofia Open" 2014, which was held at the municipal hall " Festivalna" on 22 ~ 23th March. The competition was attended by nearly 1,000 taekwondo athletes from 120 clubs from 17 different countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Norway, Luxembourg, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Tunisia, Hungary and Sweden). Sofia Open attracted outstanding attention from Bulgarian media such as BNT, bTV, Bulgarian on Air, etc. All participants were very satisfied with the organization and were impatient for next year in order to be able to visit Bulgaria again for Sofia Open. The organizers - club " Ramos"
and Bulgarian Taekwondo Federation WTF- did not hide their hopes for the tournament to become an annual competition in Bulgaria.
