Embassy of India
Seoul
***
Press Release
Ambassador of India to Republic of Korea Amit Kumar hosted a reception to celebrate the 76th Republic Day on January 23, 2025. The Chief Guest of the event was, H.E. Deputy Minister for Political Affairs, Chung Byung-won, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2. More than 500 people attended the reception including, Ambassadors, senior representatives from the ROK government, businesses, universities, think tanks, academia, media, the cultural sphere, members of the diplomatic community, and the Indian diaspora.
3. In his address, Ambassador Amit Kumar highlighted the remarkable milestones India has achieved in its 75 years of glorious journey as a sovereign democratic republic. He highlighted the growth in the Indian Economy and the strides India have made in the various fields including Manufacturing, Digital transformation including UPI, Renewable Energy, Defence, and emerging hi-technology sectors such as Space, AI etc.
4. Ambassador also spoke about the historical & cultural bonds between India and ROK and underlined deepening of the engagement between India and the ROK across multiple domains highlighting the continuous high level political consultations; growing interest of Korean Businesses to be part of India’s economic growth with a focus on Defence industry, ship building, green hydrogen, electronics and digital transformation.
5. Deputy Minister for Political Affairs, Chung Byung-won, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in his remarks reiterated the deep historical ties with India and expressed his commitment to further strengthen the relationship as India and ROK commemorate the 10th anniversary of Special Strategic Partnership. He highlighted the extensive economic partnership between the two countries and underscored the key areas of cooperation including Indo-Pacific, critical and emerging technologies shipbuilding, and defense industry. He also emphasized that the ROK’s commitment to the Korea-India partnership will remain unchanged.
6. A Children's Choir Group – ‘Brilliante” rendered the National Anthems of both India and ROK. Ms. Beena Keum performed Indian classical Odissi dance; the Korean band “Poja” led by Mr. Han Saembawy on the Sitar, Mr. Beomjin Lee on the flute and Mr. Joongwon Hwang on the guitar presented an Indian classical music performance (“Raaga Shivaranjani”) and the Korean dance group “Raas” performed Rajasthani folk dances (Kalbelia and Ghoomar).
7. Guests also enjoyed the sampling of the delicious Indian cuisine and actively engaged with booths highlighting India’s economic growth, business conducive policies & achievements, defence industries & prospects of collaboration, tourism potential. Display of cultural artifacts including musical instruments, were also set up as part of the National Day Reception. To mark the occasion, Sevit Island was illuminated in the tricolors of the Indian flag.
Seoul
24, January 2025
