The 3rd edition of the Jagiellonian Diplomatic Encounters begun on 14 October with the lecture by the Ambassador of South Korea to Poland, Mr Ji-in Hong, "The Situation in Northeast Asia and Korea's Foreign Policy." The meeting, which took place in the Assembly Hall of Collegium Novum was opened by the Head of the JU Institute of the Middle and Far East, Rev. Prof. Krzysztof Kościelniak.

The lecture started with a synthetic introduction to the complex geopolitical relations between North-East Asian states. The issues discussed by Ji-in Hong included the current development directions and political trends characteristic of these countries, as well as the mutual relations between them. Then he gave a short summary of 4347-year-long history of Korea, which served as an introduction to the current political situation on the Korean Peninsula. In this context, the ambassador pointed to the actions aimed at the unification of two Korean states, referring to the analogical problems from the European ground, such as those encountered during the unification of Germany.

In the final part of the lecture, Ji-in Hong stressed the strategic role of Polish-Korean relations, which, in his opinion, are flourishing in the political, economic, scientific and cultural sphere. The meeting concluded with a lively discussion about the current political situation on the Korean Peninsula and the prospects of further cooperation between Poland and South Korea.

After the lecture, ambassador Ji-in Hong was received by the Rector of the Jagiellonian University, Prof. Wojciech Nowak. The first secretary of Korean embassy, Mr Shik Kim, and the Dean of the JU Faculty of International and Political Studies, Prof. Bogdan Szlachta were also present at the meeting in the Rector's Office. The talks focused on the strengthening of collaboration between the Jagiellonian University and Korean higher education institutions as well as the further development of Korean studies at the JU Institute of the Middle and Far East.

Photos: Anna Wojnar