President of Poland gives lecture at HUFS as guest speaker of honor

On the topic of 'Poland in Europe, Europe in Poland'

President of Poland gives lecture at

HUFS as guest speaker of honor

President Bronislaw Komorowski of the Republic of Poland visited Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) in Seoul on Oct. 23, 2013 and gave a special lecture for the students of HUFS which is rated as the best advanced institution for foreign language education and internationalization in Korea.

After giving a lecture on the subject of “Poland in Europe, Europe in Poland," President Komorowski was presented with a title of an honorable alumnus of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies HUFS President Park Chul who is taking the lead in a move to make HUFS a world-class university.

President Komorowski's visit to HUFS as a speaker of honor came on the third day of his state visit to Korea on Oct. 21-24, 2013 at the invitation of President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea for a summit meeting.

It was Komorowski’s first trip to Korea since he took office in 2010, and is the first European Head of State to make an official state visit to Korea under the Park Administration.

HUFS is accelerating its movement in recent years in order to move forward to a world-class university. With its emphasis on a global mindset, it has made exchange agreements with 522 universities and institutions in 84 countries. Among 640 faculty members, international professors make up 30% of the total. Truly, what HUFS is looking at is not only competition with local universities, but competitiveness in the whole world.

President Komorowski held a summit with President Park Geun-hye on Oct. 22 to discuss ways to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, construction, defense industry and other economic areas while exchanging in-depth views on security situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe. Poland was an inaugural member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission that was established to monitor the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

Komorowski is the first European state guest of the Park Administration.Through the summit, the two countries were able to beef up cooperation globally.

Korea is the second strategic partner of Poland in Asia after China. This means that the country will be able to take part in sectors including defense and IT industries under preferential terms. Korea has sought to export its T-50 Golden Eagle trainer.

“President Park proposed that Seoul and Warsaw further develop bilateral cooperation in practical terms as strategic partners and President Komorowski welcomed this,” said an official at Cheong Wa Dae. “Park also asked for Komorowski’s support for Korean companies in Poland at a time of a revision of the double taxation agreements.”

Last year, Korea exported products, mostly high-tech items such as liquid crystal displays and optical devices, worth $3.68 billion to Poland last year while importing goods valued at $530 million.

As a result, Korea chalked up $3.13 billion trade surplus, the second largest with the European Union.

The two also signed a pact on collaboration in defense, which observers point out will help Korean players in Poland, which is seeking cutting-edge defense technology.

Poland currently is seeking to strengthen its defense by upgrading its trainer jets, submarines, patrol aircraft and helicopters.