The Embassy of Belarus in South Korea successfully hosted an official reception on July 1 at the Ambassador Seoul Pullman Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, to mark Belarus’s Independence Day. The occasion commemorated the historic liberation of Minsk, the capital of Belarus, from Nazi German occupation during World War II, paying tribute to the noble spirit of countless individuals who sacrificed their lives for their homeland’s freedom and sovereignty.

The reception drew numerous members of the diplomatic corps in Korea, including the ambassadors of Russia, Kazakhstan, Egypt, and Mongolia, alongside prominent figures from Korea’s political, business, and arts and culture circles. Together, they celebrated the historic independence of the Belarusian people and reaffirmed their shared commitment to deepening friendly ties and cooperation between the two nations.

Mr. Kwak YoungHoon, Ph.D., President of the United Nations Association of the Republic of Korea, also delivered congratulatory remarks, highlighting Korea’s unique ‘8282 culture’ and its remarkable economic development. In his welcoming remarks, Andrei Chernetsky, the Belarusian Ambassador to Korea, highly praised the close economic and industrial cooperation that Belarus and Korea have maintained over the past decades. He also expressed his intention to further expand cultural, artistic, and educational exchanges to broaden and deepen bilateral relations.

Ambassador Chernetsky especially highlighted that “this year, for the first time ever, a Korean delegation officially participated as international observers in the Belarusian presidential election, and a Korean film expert was appointed as a juror at the Minsk International Film Festival, demonstrating that mutual trust and understanding between the two countries are steadily growing in the cultural and artistic spheres as well.”

He went on to share that Korean vocalist Lee Yeon Seong is scheduled to perform at the ‘Slavianski Bazaar 2025,’ Belarus’s flagship arts festival, to be held next year in Vitebsk. He also presented tangible examples of economic cooperation, including the fact that Belarus’s exports to Korea have increased by more than 2.6 times, along with collaborations with Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and participation in medical technology exhibitions.

Ambassador Chernetsky stressed, “Diplomacy begins with trust between people rather than just agreements between governments,” adding, “Even when political tensions temporarily rise, cultural, artistic, and educational exchanges will continue to serve as a vital bridge connecting our peoples.” He concluded, “Just as Belarus achieved its independence by overcoming a painful history, we hope to continue sustainable and practical cooperation with Korea in various fields such as culture, industry, and academia.”

The embassy expects that this reception will further expand cultural and people-to-people networks between the two nations. An embassy official stated, “Through various cultural events and public diplomacy programs, we plan to make Belarus more familiar to the Korean public and to further strengthen the friendship and trust between our two countries.”

Welcoming Address by Belarus Ambassador

H.E. Mr. Andrew Chernetsky

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Distinguished Guests,

Let me sincerely welcome you to a celebration on the occasion of Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus. Despite the centuries-old history, my country celebrates the national holiday on the day of the liberation of the Belarusian capital, the city of Minsk, from the Nazi invaders. That war is often called World War II. But in the history of the Republic of Belarus, as well as in the history of other republics of the former USSR, this war entered under the Great Patriotic War.

For our ancestors, then it was really a battle for their Fatherland, for the right to be free, not to be enslaved by invaders.  Together, our countries survived and won. The surrender of fascist Germany 80 years ago marked the victory in the Great Patriotic War.  This victory is forever captured in history, which no one will be able to rewrite or distort. The people of the Republic of Belarus, celebrating Independence Day, will always remember about this date, and the heroes who gave their lives for the independence of our homeland.

In the solemn speech on the occasion of Independence Day, it is usually customary to talk about the development of relations between our countries over the past year. Today, I am pleased to note the positive shifts in bilateral contacts between the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Korea. For the first time, a delegation from South Korea took part in the mission of international observers for the election of the President of the Republic of Belarus. One of the members of the South Korean delegation, Dr. Kwaak YoungHoon, is with us today at this event, and I would be extremely grateful to him if he could say a few words about his impression from visiting my country.

Also, representatives of the South Korean cinema industry took part in the jury of the “Listapad -2024” film festival, held in Minsk, November last year. Literally a few days later, the city of Vitebsk in the north of Belarus will host the largest art festival “Slavic Bazaar -2025”, which will be the first to perform for an honored artist from South Korea, the owner of many prizes and awards, bass Lee Yeon Seong. I really hope that today we can also evaluate his talent live.

Speaking about the development of bilateral relations, I deliberately attached great importance to cultural cooperation between Belarus and the Republic of Korea. The current period of foreign policy turbulence, unfortunately, complicates the political dialogue between countries. This is also reflected in the communication of the Belarusian and South Korean foreign ministries. But the ongoing activation of cooperation through culture and education between our countries is the best example of the fact that the dialogue between the Belarusian and South Korean peoples develops normally, even despite some “political cooling”.

In my opinion, the dialogue between peoples is more important than the dialogue between politicians. With great enthusiasm, I took the words of the recently elected president of the Republic of Korea his Excellency Lee Jae Myung, who noted that the purpose of foreign policy should be to improve the welfare of people. I am sure that in the near future the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Korea will be able to intensify other areas of cooperation, for the benefit of the peoples of our countries.

And our countries really have something to offer each other. The best confirmation of my words is the growth of interest by businessmen of both South Korea and Belarus, to the development of interaction. This is also expressed in a multiple increase in trade indicators between the two countries, including Belarusian exports to Korea - more than 2.6 times. The embassy welcomes the mutual increase in the number of business trips.

The mission of experts from the Korean Food and Drug Safety Agency recently visited the Republic of Belarus with the mission to inspect Belarusian diary industry enterprises. In their turn, Belarusian specialists attended specialized exhibitions of medical equipment in Korea. All mentioned above and many other areas of economic interaction between the businessmen of the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Korea are successfully developing and have significant growth potential. This is real people’s diplomacy - when, even despite the pause taken by politicians and diplomats, relations between the peoples of our countries are developing on a mutually beneficial basis. This is what I strive for and how I see my mission as an ambassador - to strengthen the mutual connections between the people of the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Korea.

Concluding my speech, I would like to ask Dr. Kwaak YoungHoon to say a few words about the Republic of Belarus. In the Republic of Korea, Dr. Kwaak is a very famous figure, who stood at the origins of many national building undertakings, contributing to the miraculous development of the Republic of Korea – from the 1988 Olympics in Seoul to the architectural transformation of the South Korean capital.

He was recently in my country. In the Republic of Korea, not everyone is quite aware of the Republic of Belarus. Very often, the opinion about my country is formed on the basis of judgments of those who have never visited Belarusian land. Therefore, it is extremely important for me of any unbiased opinion of a person who could tell about what he saw personally. Direct personal communication on any topics, freedom from stereotypes imposed by someone, finding common mutually beneficial areas of cooperation are unattainable conditions for successful diplomacy between any countries, and Belarusian-South Korean relations is no exception.

Dear guests, distinguished colleagues, friends,

Let me sincerely thank you once again for sharing with us this Day – the National Day of Belarus. It is an integral part of our heritage, our national memory. The people of Belarus keep this heritage in their hearts, in Belarusian traditions, in Belarusian history. And so, it will always be.

I would like to propose a toast:

I wholeheartedly wish to you and all the people of the Republic of Korea happiness, success, peace and prosperity.

Thank you very much.