Korea and Sri Lanka mark 44th anniversary of diplomatic relations

By Ambassador Santhush Woonjin Jeong

Ayubowan, Vanakkam, Annyonghasimnikka (Korean greeting)

I am the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Sri Lanka, Santhush Woonjin Jeong.

14th November 2021 marks the 44th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic ties between Korea and Sri Lanka. I would like to celebrate the meaningful day together with Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan people. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1977, our relationship has been robust. Korea and Sri Lanka have many common factors such as similar geographical location and historical experiences that have contributed to a deeper mutual understanding. Based on this mutual understanding and trust, our two countries have been continuing to establish solid cooperation in various fields such as agriculture, fabrics, culture, automobile industry, labour cooperation and become key partners in the fields of economy, trade and investment.

Since my arrival as the Korean Ambassador to Sri Lanka last year, I have made numerous efforts to elevate our relations on multiple spheres including education, labour cooperation, public health cooperation, ODA support, trade relations, cultural development and environmental collaboration.

This year has been remarkable in the field of education. Thanks to the growing interest in Korean language among the Sri Lankan people, Korean language has been officially adopted as a foreign language in the advanced level curriculum from 2021 and students can sit for the Korean language examination in the university entrance examination by 2023. This progress has been well backed up by conducting an online capacity building programme for Korean language teachers in the advanced level classes.

Korean language education has led to more job creation. I am glad that the Korean government recently decided to resume the entry of new Sri Lankan workers and workers from other foreign countries to Korea very soon. 23,000 Sri Lankan workers are presently employed in Korea, contributing to the economic advancement of both countries. They have transmitted around $520 million to Sri Lanka in 2019. The Korean government applies the rule of ‘Equal Pay for Equal Work’ to all the workers, regardless of their nationality. The EPS centre in Colombo has contributed to the facilitation of migrant employment and promotes the bilateral labour relations.