Sri Lanka, Korea celebrate 40years of diplomatic ties

Nov 11, Colombo: In celebration of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Sri Lanka, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Colombo is organizing a variety of programs during a ‘Korea Week’ to be held from 13th to 20th November 2017.

The Embassy hopes to bring new aspects of Korean culture to Sri Lankans through the week-long events, the Government Information Department said.

Starting the week, the 40th Anniversary Reception will be held at the BMICH Banquet Hall on 14th November, followed by the world famous non-verbal performance of NANTA at the BMICH Main Hall (14 November at 7:30 p.m. and 15 November at 6:30 p.m.). NANTA integrates Korea’s traditional rhythm, Samulnori, with comedy and drama on a kitchen theme. The show can be enjoyed by audiences of all ages and nationalities. The NANTA performance will be open to the public.

The Korean Film Festival 2017 will be held at the National Film Corporation from 17th to 20th November. The Korean Film Festival, hosted for the fourth time by the Embassy, offers a well selected range of Korean films that must have broad appeals for Sri Lankans. The opening film of the Korean Film Festival 2017 – ‘My Brilliant Life’ – will take audiences to a story of the immature and clumsy parent of a son who is diagnosed with an extremely rare genetic disorder called progeria, which causes him to age prematurely. The other movies are as follows: ‘The Thieves’ (on 18 November at 2:00 p.m.); ‘The Suspect’ (on 18 November at 5:30 p.m.); ‘The King of Jokgu’ (on 19 November at 2:00 p.m.); and ‘Very Ordinary Couple’ (on 19 November at 5:30 p.m.). The Korean Film Festival will conclude with ‘My Paparotti’ (on 20 November at 5:30 p.m.), which is based on a true life story of a man who pursues his dream of becoming a singer under challenging circumstances.

The Korean Speech Contest will be held at the New Arts Theater, University of Colombo on 18th November 8:00 a.m. The contest is organized by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Sri Lanka office. Following the introduction of Korean dramas and K-pop in Sri Lanka the ‘Korean Wave’ has been spreading around the country. Many Sri Lankans, including younger generations who are interested in Korean culture and language, are studying Korean. The 10th Korean Speech Contest in Sri Lanka will provide a valuable opportunity for Sri Lankans to demonstrate their Korean language skills.

A TV Documentary on Bilateral Ties will be broadcast on 18th November on Rupavahini. The fifty minute television documentary entitled “Friendship of Four Decades” will review the bilateral cooperation across a whole range of areas of mutual interest, spanning the political, economic and development cooperation spheres and explore the way forward for a future-oriented relationship between Korea and Sri Lanka.

The Korean Ambassador’s and Kukkiwon Cup Taekwondo Championship will be held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium at 3:30 p.m. on 25th November. The Kukkiwon (World Taekwondo Headquarters) Demonstration Team visiting Sri Lanka for the Championship will give a demonstration. Preliminaries will take place on 11th to 14th November at the Sports Hostel Complex, Ministry of Sports, and the final championship will be held on 25th November. The Taekwondo Championship 2017, jointly organized by the Korean Embassy and Sri Lanka Taekwondo Federation, will promote and develop Taekwondo in Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, the Korea Post has also collaborated with the Ministry of Posts, Postal Services and Muslim Religious Affairs of Sri Lanka to issue Commemorative Postage Stamps.