Others Secretary-General OU Boqian Paid a Courtesy Call to the Mayor of Gyeongju City 2022.12.01
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On December 1, 2022, TCS Secretary-General Amb. OU Boqian paid a courtesy call to Mr. JOO Nak-young, the Mayor of Gyeongju City. The two sides exchanged views on the TCS' proposal on 'Cultural Cites of East Asia(CCEA)' Media & Celebrities Tour (hereinafter referred to as “CCEA Tour”), and discussed ways to cooperate with each other in the future. 

Mayor JOO introduced that Gyeongju city has sister city relations and friendly ties with 19 cities in 11 countries, stressing that Gyeongju, as a historical and cultural city of Korea, has steadily promoted exchange and cooperation with China and Japan. He noted that despite restrictions on face-to-face exchanges due to COVID-19 pandemic, the city's efforts to promote international cooperation has been continued through various means including the online meeting among mayors, provision of quarantine supplies, and exchange of comfort letters. He added that nowadays, the cooperation on the pandemic, climate change as well as supply chain have been the most important topics among local governments of the three countries. 

SG OU congratulated Gyeongju for its achievements made as CCEA 2022, and underlined that it is an important role of local governments to share a culture that is a common experience and value connecting the three countries. Emphasizing that the three countries have faced descending mutual perceptions owing to the increase of online communication since the outbreak of the pandemic, SG OU highlighted on the TCS plans to expand people-to-people exchanges which aim to improve mutual awareness and understanding, especially among young generation. In this context, she made detailed introduction of the upcoming events of the TCS including “Youth Month,” Trilateral Youth Exchange Network(TYEN), and CCEA Tour, stressing that the TCS will spare no efforts on enhancing local cities exchange and the understanding of shared culture among the three countries. In her detailed brief on the CCEA Tour, SG OU explained that the project is expected to showcase historical, contemporary and modern aspects of the local cities and their cultures through the lens of media and internet celebrities, which will conclude with East Asia Culture Forum and CCEA Yangzhou-Nara-Gyeongju Mayor’s Dialogue. For the successful hosting of the project, SG OU asked for Gyeongju city government's kind support and cooperation. 

Mayor JOO said he agrees entirely that it is important for young people to understand the diversity of culture and develop it further through the process of sharing and harmonizing. To this end, he said it is critical to provide a future-oriented and friendly environment for such activities, and highlighted that the TCS' initiatives will play an important role in this regard. He promised that Gyeongju city government will provide all necessary support as requested. 

Prior to the meeting, Gyeongju city government also provided a guided tour of historic and cultural sites to the TCS delegation for better understanding of Gyeongju. Building on this occasion, TCS and Gyeongju have decided to continue working-level consultations and communication to coordinate specific programs in the future.

▲ Meeting between the Mayor of Gyeongju City JOO Nak-young and TCS SG OU Boqian 

▲ Mayor JOO and SG OU