As was exemplified at bilateral summit meeting on Nov. 18, 2022
By Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik with VCs Song Na-ra, Choe Nam-suk, Joy Cho, Reporter Soobin Kim
President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea takes personal interest in the promotion of relations, friendship and cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the Kingdom of Spain.
Korea and Spain have been a very friendly partner to each other and the bilateral relationship and friendship, in fact, date back to 1593. According to Korean historical documents and article by
Director Alfonso Ojeda of the Spanish Centre for Korean Research Professor at the Complutense University of Madrid,
the first European to arrive in Korea was a Spanish priest.
In that year, the Jesuit Gregorio de Cépedes came to the Korean Peninsula at the request of a Roman Catholic "Daimyo" in the service of Japanese invader, Shogun Hideyoshi Toyotomi.
In a letter to his superior during the mission, Father Cépedes reported barbaric wartime behavior by the Japanese Army led by Shogun Toyotomi. Another missionary chronicle written by Luis de Guzmán in 1601 described the Korean people as peaceful and intelligent.
Back on the topic of Korean-Spanish summit, after the meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of Spain at the Office of the President in Yongsan (Dragon Hill), Seoul, on Nov. 18, 2022, President Yoon said, “Spain is a major economy with exceptional industrial competitiveness within Europe.” Then he said, “The two of us agreed that there is huge potential between the two countries in terms of economic cooperation.”
Yoon said, “We both welcome mutual investment cooperation between the companies of both countries expanding into future strategic industries, including electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy, such as solar and wind power.”
President Yoon stressed that the memorandum of understanding signed between the Korea Trade Insurance Corp. and Spain’s Export Credit Agency will be the foundation for boosting joint expansion in global projects.
The friendly relations and friendships between Korea and Spain, however, dates back many, many years aback.
According to Korean historical documentation, the first European to arrive in Korea was a Spanish priest.
As was briefly introduced afore, in 1593, the Jesuit Gregorio de Cépedes came to the Korean Peninsula at the request of a Roman Catholic "Daimyo" in the service of Japanese Invader Hideyoshi Toytomi. In a letter to his superior during the mission, Father Cépedes reported barbaric wartime behavior by the Japanese. Another missionary chronicle written by Luis de Guzmán in 1601 described the Korean people as peaceful and intelligent.
In Spain, one can find a true icon of Korean patriotism in the life of music Maestro Ahn Eak-tai. Ahn lived, married and died in Spain, on the Mediterranean island of Majorca. Ahn is well-known in Korea for having composed the Korean National Anthemm, Aegukka.
In Spain, Ahn is revered for the musical eminence that left a testament of virtuosity in this country. He was the founder of the Palma de Majorca Philharmonic Orchestra, which he raised to world prominence.
President Yoon Suk Yeol has much more to say in praise of Spain and bilateral relations, cooperation and friendship.
Yoon said, “Korea and Spain are major countries in overseas construction orders and companies of the two countries have been jointly winning construction projects in other countries, especially in Africa and the Middle East.”
Noting the impressive growth in trade investment between the two countries over the past 70 years, Yoon also stressed the importance of cultural and personal exchanges.
Yoon said, “The opening of the Cervantes Institute in Seoul and Spain’s tourism center contribute to strengthening the relationship between the two countries.”
“Spain,” Yoon said, “is the world’s second biggest tourism country and, before Covid-19, Spain was one of the most traveled destinations for Koreans, with annual visits of roughly 600,000.”
Yoon also strongly reminded, “The number of Korean students studying in Spain has been increasing steadily.”
Then he said, “Spain is also a key partner in leading the international order based on the rule of law.”
Reiterating his talks with Prime Minister Yoon said, “We agreed during the G20 meeting in Bali to work together on food, the energy crisis and health.”
On the need for increased between Korea and Spain in the economic and industrial areas, Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang had the same opinion with those of President Yoon. Speaking at a Korean-Spanish business forum, Lee said, “Considering the economic size and the potential of Korea and Spain, there is a huge opportunity to expand economic cooperation.” Then he said, “We expect bigger cooperation in the development of future cars as Spain has a strong automotive industry.”
According to the Korean government sources, Spain is the second-largest automobile producer after Germany in Europe.
Minister Lee also noted mutual opportunity in renewable energy, including Korea Midland Power’s 90-megawatt Primera Solar Power Plant, built in October, and Madrid-based Ocean Winds setting up an offshore wind power plant in Incheon.
During a meeting with Spanish Industry Minister Reyes Maroto, Lee emphasized the efforts that the Spanish government is making in attracting Korean companies.
He said the Spanish government’s 25-billion-won cash incentive to the Korean battery component maker Iljin Materials plays a significant role in boosting cooperation.
The incentive is from the Spanish government’s Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE), a program for the mobility industry with a pool of almost 800 million euros ($860 million)
Iljin Materials is investing 500 billion won in building a copper foil production plant in Catalonia, which is the biggest green investment made in the region in the last 20 years.
It is the Korean company's first production plant in Europe. The plant is expected to create 500 jobs. Cooper foil is a key component in anodes for EV batteries.
Prime Minister Sanchez is the first Spanish prime minister to visit Seoul excluding trips made to attend multilateral meetings since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1950.
"Through my bilateral summits with 10 or so nations, I had meaningful discussions on ways to prepare for the era of economic security, including nuclear power, the defense industry, semiconductors and supply chains," he said, noting that he used the opportunity to promote the excellence, safety and price competitiveness of South Korean nuclear energy.
Historical relations between Korea and Spain:
According to Korean historical documents and article by Director Alfonso Ojeda of
the Spanish Centre for Korean Research Professor at the Complutense University of
Madrid,
the first European to arrive in Korea was a Spanish priest. In 1593, the Jesuit Gregorio de Cépedes went to the Korean Peninsula at the request of a Roman Catholic "daimyo" in the service of Japanese invader Hideyoshi Toyotomi.
In a letter to his superior during the mission, Father Cépedes reported barbaric wartime behavior by the Japanese. Another missionary chronicle written by Luis de Guzmán in 1601 described the Korean people as peaceful and intelligent.
In Spain, as was briefly mentioned afore, one can find a true icon of Korean patriotism in the life of Maestro Ahn Eak-tai. He lived, married and died in Spain, on the Mediterranean island of Majorca.
Ahn is well-known in Korea for having composed the Korean National Anthem. In Spain, he is revered for the musical eminence that left a testament of virtuosity in this country. He was the founder of the Palma de Majorca Philharmonic Orchestra, which he raised to world prominence.
The Republic of Korea and Spain have experienced very similar contemporary histories. Both countries suffered a tragic civil war.
Afterwards, both countries achieved rapid economic development, a legacy that other developing nations have sought to emulate.
Korea and Spain share common values, and the democratic process is deeply rooted in both the political systems.
At the same time, as a member of the European Union (EU), the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), Spain implements the common policy that these bodies adopt and tries to have a role in Asia with active participation in regional affairs.
With respect to political contacts, a healthy atmosphere of cooperation exists between Korea and Spain.
Since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in 1962, regular working meetings at all levels have taken place, both in Seoul and Madrid. Apart from these cooperative relationships, in 1996, King Juan Carlos paid an official visit to Korea, and just this year, in February, President Roh Moo-hyun made a four-day visit to Spain, his first as South Korean President.
Korea was chosen as the guest of honor of the "Feria Internacional de Arte Contemporáeo" (ARCO 2007), and 2007 was formally declared the "Year of Korea in Spain." This facilitated a re-launching of bilateral cooperation.
One of the advances made in cultural exchange has been increased Spanish-language learning in Korea.
Since the foundation of Dongyang Institute for Foreign Language (1948), about 11 Spanish language and literature departments have been established in Korean universities (The Korean Times, 05-03-2006).
Furthermore, the Spanish Cultural Centre in Daegu and the Korean Association of Hispanists play an important role in developing activities on Spanish literature and culture. The valuable work of these Korean Hispanists is evident in publications such as "Estudios Hispánicos," their yearly academic conferences and the fact that the "Asociación Coreana de Hispanistas" now has more than 300 members.
Spanish music and the movies of JoséLuis Garcia, Pedro Almodóvar and Alejandro Amenábar are already appreciated among film fans. But an exciting new event should be a turning point in increasing the presence of Spain in Korea. Very soon, the "Instituto Cervantes" will open a branch in Seoul. The "Instituto" is the largest organization in the world dedicated to the teaching of Spanish and maintains a presence in over 27 different countries through 44 centers devoted to Spanish and Hispanic American culture and the Spanish language. Its activities will help to expand, throughout South Korea, knowledge of the Spanish language as well as Spanish culture and art.
However, there are still more areas to develop and progress to be made. Basically, these areas can be summarized as follows:
- Trade relations are a permanent source of divergence. In 2005, Korean exports were valued at $3.53 billion, while Spanish exports reached only $653 million. The Spanish government pursues more balanced trade relations. This issue could be addressed by promoting and implementing business and technological cooperation programs. Meetings of the Chambers of Commerce and the "Bilateral Commission of Korean-Spanish Businessmen" should be expanded in the near future.
- We should take advantage of the synergies produced by a triangulation process of Korea-Spain-Latin America relations. These relations can be expanded to a network of events, particularly economic, academic, social and cultural activities. At the economic level, after joining the Inter-American Development Bank, Korean companies have shown a willingness to increase investment in that region. Spain is, after U.S., the second largest investor in Latin America and has accumulated valuable experience that could be transmitted to Korea. Cooperation for development is another topic of particular relevance. Unfortunately, we do not have a project for trilateral collaboration in place. A meeting could be organized to discuss strategies and research ways to improve interaction among the countries involved.
- Both Spain and Korea should promote their respective images in the other country. Both countries do not seem to be well understood or appreciated by the other. The Korea Foundation and Casa Asia (Spanish Asian House) are working hard to lead a wide range of programs and activities for fostering mutual understanding and building fruitful cooperation.
- There remain some areas of mutual interest that today have a "low profile," such as finance, energy, telecommunication, tourism, sports," cultural industries," gastronomy and cooperation among nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). These areas also need to be developed in the medium term.
- The sculptures by Subirachs in Seoul and Kang in Barcelona represent more than a symbolic gesture. To my mind, both sculptures mean that mutual understanding can be reached through cultural exchanges. Public authorities have to promote all these contacts at every level, whether national, regional or local, but the true success or failure of cultural interaction lies with our civil societies.