Index – Abroad – More world stars are coming to Hungary this year
Park Csul Min arrived in Budapest more than two years ago as the ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Hungary, but his mandate will expire at the beginning of 2023, and on this occasion the Hungarian Nation did a big interview with him. Right at the beginning, he expressed that it was a great honor for him that the Hungarian government recognized his work with the middle cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit. He added: this made a childhood dream come true. “Even at a very young age, I imagine that no matter where life takes you, a state award marks an important milestone in a person’s career. To me, this is even more valuable than if I had received it from the Korean government,” he boasted.
He said that he was leaving Hungary earlier than he had planned and that he wanted to be much more active, but he accomplished most of his plans and achieved many of his goals. “In November 2021, for example, a South Korean head of state visited Budapest for the first time in twenty years, in the person of then President Moon Jae-in. not just a real-level bilateral meeting between the two countries, but at the same time a V4-South Korea summit for the first time in history.”
The summit was a turning point
He admitted that when Seoul excited the Central European region, he did not see Hungary as “the biggest contender.” The only reason for this was that, among other things, in terms of the size of Poland’s territory and population, the Czech Republic’s is that of Slovakia’s or even Hungary’s. And these aspects proved to be enough for the Koreans to consider Poland the most important partner in the region. The Poles wanted to be the hosts of the V4-South Korea summit, but with the intervention of Park Csul Min, Budapest finally became the finalist.
The outgoing Korean ambassador to Budapest was no stranger to diplomacy and gained a lot of experience in the field of international relations, as he was previously the head of the European department at the Republic of Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, and held the position of secretary of foreign affairs in the Korean presidential palace and the Blue House.
He recalled that many South Korean investors and businessmen came to Budapest because of the summit, and they made a very good impression. As a result of the summit, Viktor Orbán and then President Moon Jae-in also publicly declared their commitment to the further development of economic and business relations.
From this point of view, this meeting in 2021 is also a kind of simic milestone, since maximum commitment from both parties to the continuation is indisputable. Anyway, we have seen the results of this since then, as relations have deepened over the past year
– said Park Csul Min in the interview, who is also proud that since October 2022 the Korean Airlines direct flight between Budapest and Seoul, according to which all of them can boost tourism between the countries. He also reported that
since December, the airline has been launching direct flights between the two capitals three times a week.
“In addition, I recently spoke with an employee of Korean Airlines, who said that from December 2023, they calculate that there will be direct flights between Budapest and Seoul every day – this means ten direct flights per week,” he informed.
He also said that the occupancy of the flights restarted after the coronavirus epidemic is currently around 60-70 percent, while the occupancy of the Budapest-Seoul flight, which was launched in October, is already 90 percent.
It’s no surprise that Korean Airlines is pleased, as the numbers show it’s a profitable route with close to full houses. According to December statistics, 25 percent of passengers on flights from Budapest to Seoul are Hungarian citizens.
It was also a topic in the interview that South Korea became the record holder for the third time in the last four years investments in Hungary concerning. Since 2014, there have been thirty-nine South Korean electric car industry investments worth more than ten billion euros.
There are currently over three hundred Korean companies in our country,
furthermore, the Republic of Korea is the third largest investor in Hungary on a cumulative scale. “A good indicator of the deepening of relations is how often Péter Szijjártó visits Szöul. He visited the South Korean capital for the first time in 2016, and from 2019 he visits my country every year. I trust that we will be able to host you in Seoul at least three times,” said Park Csul Min, who noted that the successful cooperation so far has been fruitful for both parties, and added that they are happy to welcome Hungarian business delegations and other members of the Hungarian government to South Korea. too.
He reminded that the Republic of Korea is applying for the right to host the 2030 World Expo. According to his information, this is now a priority in the public administration in Seoul, and Hungary supports them. “Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that everything is in order for him to support South Korea, as the two countries maintain close relations. I also count this as an important success.“
The Korean is filming in Hungary soap opera star
Park Csul Min’s most significant result was last year in Budapest Korea Day sees its implementation, in which more than ten thousand people participated. He expressed his hope that the event would become a tradition. Finally, he announced that one of South Korea’s most popular soap opera actors, Song Junggi, is coming to Hungary to shoot a film this year, the Netflix hit, Rich born again the protagonist of the series.
I believe that the presentation of the film will be another springboard for Hungary towards the Korean and Asian audiences, as millions will be able to see the streets of wonderful Budapest through the film, and this may also bring hordes of tourists here.
– said the outgoing ambassador, who was happy to share the news that pianist Yunchan Lim, who many people call “the living Ferenc Liszt”, will visit our country in May. It turned out that the Korean Cultural Center will bring the National Orchestra of Korea to Hungary in the fall, there will be an international film festival in Miskolc, and the 16th Korean Film Week will be hosted by Debrecen in addition to Budapest.