TEHRAN – On October 23rd, the Embassy of South Korea in Tehran observed the 63rd anniversary of diplomatic relations with Iran through a calligraphy exhibition. The event, convened at the Ambassador’s Residence, explored the concept of “Family” to strengthen bilateral cultural connections.

On the sidelines of the event, Mehr News Agency conducted an exclusive interview with His Excellency Kim Junpyo, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, which follows.

Mr. Ambassador pointed to the popularity of Korean culture and art among Iranians and explained that this interest may be due to the existence of common cultural topics between Iran and Korea.

Speaking about the reason for the spread of South Korean art and culture, including cinema, music (especially K-pop music), and literature in Iran, the envoy stated: "Regarding the main reason for this spread and interest in South Korean art in Iran, I cannot give a precise answer. But what comes to my mind is the existence of common cultural topics between Iran and Korea. This is why the people of the two countries can understand common concepts and emotions without much effort. I think this long-term friendship and relationship has also emerged because of these common cultural grounds."

He added: "One of these commonalities is the topic of 'family'; something that has great similarity in the culture and customs of Iran and Korea. 'Family' and respect for elders are common concepts between the two nations."

He continued regarding holding cultural and artistic programs like the "Family" calligraphy exhibition for other arts such as theater and music, stating: "The 'Family' art event is the first step that has happened after nine years, where we managed to invite Korean artists to Iran. In other words, it is a starting point. From now on, we will also strive to create such programs for other arts like music and theater."

The South Korean ambassador explained about preparing a platform for the presence of Iranian artists in Korea and holding artistic programs: "We will certainly take action for this to happen and are very interested in having Iranian artists come to Korea and display Iranian culture. Some time ago, Master Keyhan Kalhor came to South Korea and, with his beautiful performance, was able to display Iranian music art, which was met with the welcome of the South Korean people."

He finally reminded: "Also, every year at the Busan International Film Festival, many Iranian artists, including directors and actors, attend. The people of South Korea are also not very unfamiliar with Iranian culture. We are also trying to strengthen intercultural matters more and more. I am sure such events are going to happen more frequently, and Iranian artists will have an increasing presence in Korea so that the relations between these two countries continue deeper and more intimate than before."

Source: https://www.mehrnews.com/news/6636158/%D9%88%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AB-%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%87%D9%86%DA%AF%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%AA%D8%B1%DA%A9-%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D9%87-%D8%AC%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A8%DB%8C-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%A2%D8%BA%D8%A7%D8%B2