Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat

TC Activities “Culture City of East Asia” Media and Internet Celebrities Tour Inaugurated Successfully 2023-04-20

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On April 20, 2023, “Culture City of East Asia” Media and Internet Celebrities Tour launching ceremony was held in Gyeongju, the Republic of Korea. Secretary-General Amb. OU Boqian of Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS), Gyeongju Mayor Mr. JOO Nak-young, Chinese Consul General in Busan Mr. CHEN Ribiao, Japanese Deputy Consul General in Busan KURITA Shinichi, Gyeongju City Council Chairman Mr. LEE Cheol-woo, President of Korean East Asia Culture Center Mr. RO Jae-hun and 14 media and internet celebrities from China, Japan and ROK were in attendance.

To mark the 10th anniversary of the first designation of “Culture City of East Asia”, TCS organizes the Tour in collaboration with governments of Yangzhou, Nara and Gyeongju. Participants from CJK major media outlets, we-media and culture organizations are invited for the tour to promote the city images, consolidate their culture ties and trilateral people-to-people exchanges so as to improve mutual perceptions among the three countries. Korean East Asia Culture Center, China Public Diplomacy Association, Japan Council of Local Authorities for International relations and Japan Foundation give supports to the Tour.

In her marks, Secretary-General OU Boqian said, Gyeongju, Nara and Yangzhou are all famous historical cities. Their exchanges date back to thousands of years ago, and have established sisterhood relations in present-day, writing down an important chapter in trilateral friendly exchanges. She encouraged the participants to find by their own eyes and experience by their own hearts the shared but different East Asia Culture during the tour to the three cities.

Mayor JOO Nak-young said, the three countries share geographic proximity and close historic ties. Quoting “Communication facilitates understandings, and understandings facilitates friendship,” he suggested deepened exchanges and better knowledges on each other. He reiterated Gyeongju’s full support to and participation in trilateral local governments exchanges, and expected the advancement of mutual understandings and friendship among the people of the three countries through wide media coverage and SNS broadcastings on this Tour.

Consul General CHEN Ribiao highlighted the significance of the Tour in current context that the three countries are stepping out of the pandemic and resuming mutual exchanges. Viewing that destinies of all countries are intertwined with each other in contemporary times, President XI Jinping proposed the Global Civilization Initiative, advocating for the respect of the diversity of civilizations and the principles of mutual learning and dialogue, and stressing humanity’s common values. China is ready to work together with ROK and Japan to promote culture exchanges and people-to-people bonds, and showcase the charms of eastern culture in international arena.

Deputy Consul General KURITA Shinichi said the three countries are important drivers of the prosperity of East Asia, and there remains huge potentials for Trilateral Cooperation to tackle with international and regional issues. The cultures of the three countries share similarity while keeping their own features, forming up a unique East Asia Culture. He expected the Tour help to solidify the foundation of the shared culture and shape the shared future for the three countries.

Underlying the significance of the Tour to promote the friendly communication and cooperation among the three countries, Chairman LEE Cheol-woo gave warms greetings to the participants of the Tour. He expected the beautiful stories of the three cities’ friendly exchanges be shared in a broad spectrum.

President RO Jae-hun spoke highly of the historic roles of the three cities, indicating that the Tour connects the past and the future by combining the three cities, which would enhance the younger generation’s understandings on the importance of Trilateral Cooperation, and strengthen their acknowledgement of the East Asia culture. He suggested the three countries cooperate faithfully to foster a stronger East Asia culture, and therefore create a better living environment for the next generations of the three countries.

Themed “Shared Culture · Shared Future”, during the 11-day Tour, the participants will share their experience with their followers via SNS posters and vlogs. An “East Asia Culture Symposium” will be held on April 28 to share the Tour and explore the important role of a shared culture towards trilateral friendly cooperation. Updates will be made in TCS SNS accounts (Weibo: 中日韩合作秘书处；Instagram: TCS_cjk; Facebook: Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat).

“Culture City of East Asia” is the most established brand in trilateral culture cooperation. The culture ministries of the three countries will designate one “Culture city of East Asia” in each country (two cities for China since 2021), and various exchange programs have been carried out among the designated cities. By 2023, there has been 31 “Culture cities of East Asia.”