July 2008 – Hawass Visits South Korea

At the beginning of July, I traveled to South Korea for a week at the invitation of the Korea Foundation, an organization established to promote cultural exchange between Korea and other countries around the world. I met with many officials of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with which the Korea Foundation is affiliated. I was accompanied by my friends Mohamed Shafik, the head of Misr Travel, and Elhamy El-Zayat, the President of EMCO Travel.

One of the most important goals of my trip was to share some background with our hosts on Egypt’s Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni, who is currently campaigning to become the next Director-General of UNESCO. At the same time, I was there to promote cooperation between Korea and Egypt in the fields of conservation, museology, and information technology. IT in particular is an important area of collaboration between Korea and the SCA. We are currently working together on a major IT project for the SCA’s Documentation Center.

I enjoyed the trip very much, and I had the opportunity to visit a number of important cultural sites. It was particularly interesting to me to see the National Museum of Korea, and learn about the country’s history. The museum itself is beautiful, and I was delighted by its excellent lighting, displays, and interior design. I did enjoy meeting the Deputy Director of the museum’s Educational and Cultural Cooperation Bureau, Mr. Kang Sung-Il. I also met Mr. Kim Yang-Sil, First Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. Perhaps my most interesting meeting was with Mr. Yim Sung-Joon, the President of the Korea Foundation and a former ambassador to Egypt.

I was able to visit the Changdeokgung Palace Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is famous for its Biwon, or “Secret Garden.” It was very interesting to see the rooms inside the beautiful buildings in the complex, including offices and royal bedchambers. I learned that the great King Sejong, who was responsible for the development of the Korean writing system, once resided in the palace. I also visited the city of Daejeon, an important research center where conservation is studied and taught along with many other fields.

As I explored Korea’s culture and history, I was struck by the fact that in 1961, the country became a military dictatorship, and since then has grown to become one of the top economic powers in the world. After more than 35 years of staged economic growth, Korea is now the world’s 13th largest economy, and the 7th largest trading partner of the United States. In addition, Korea is a world leader in IT. The country’s current development stage began in 2000, and is scheduled to last until 2030.
While I was there, Korea was in a state of upheaval over imports of American beef. The government was importing meat from America, which was much less expensive than that produced in Korea. The people took to the streets in a week of candlelit protest, because they were afraid that American beef was contaminated with mad cow disease.

On the subject of food, on a more pleasant note, I must say that I did enjoy the spicy dishes that I ate in Korea very much. My visit was a very interesting and enjoyable one, and I was very happy to have the opportunity to experience and learn about this amazing country, its culture, and its history.
 

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