Some 1,400 Japanese political figures and tourism industry officials will flock to Korea next week to participate in the “Korea-Japan Friendship Event” to promote cultural exchange and tourism between the two nations.
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| Kumho Asiana Group chairman Park Sam-koo (second from right) poses for photographs with Toshihiro Nikai (second from left), a senior member of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Korean pianist Son Yeol-eum (left) after an NHK Symphony Orchestra concert at Seoul Arts Center, southern Seoul, last year. Asiana Airlines Kumho Asiana Group chairman Park Sam-koo (second from right) poses for photographs with Toshihiro Nikai (second from left), a senior member of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Korean pianist Son Yeol-eum (left) after an NHK Symphony Orchestra concert at Seoul Arts Center, southern Seoul, last year. (Asiana Airlines) |
Kumho Asiana Group chairman Park Sam-koo initiated the event with Toshihiro Nikai, a senior member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and president of All Nippon Travel Agents Association, to mark the 50th anniversary of the normalization of Korea-Japan diplomatic relations this year. The four-day event is slated to begin on Jan. 12.
“The event is the result of people-to-people diplomacy, which … could be a starting point for a possible thaw in Korea-Japan relations,” an Asiana Airlines official said.
Key figures from the tourism sector, including Korea’s Culture Minister Kim Jong-deok and Shigeto Kubo, Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency, will discuss ways to increase the exchange of tourism and development of ties.
By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)
