Ambassador Stephan Auer of Germany in Seoul hosted a reception at his residence in Seongbuk-dong in Seoul on Oct. 7, 2016 to celebrate the Day of German Unity. It rained on and off that evening sufficient to dampen the spirit of anyone from attending the party.
However, if anyone had made such a prediction based on one’s common sense, the idea went far apart from what really took place that night.
The entire hallroom and other rooms of the residence were filled to the brim and so was the front garden of the residence building.
Germany is regarded among many Koreans, especially senior citizens, as ‘good teacher’ in terms of achieving peaceful unification of the divided country. Following the end of World War II in 1945, many countries became divided, such as the Korean peninsula, and became one again. However, Germany stands out as a country who achieved reunification through peaceful means in contrast with many other divided countries who failed to do so.
Many distinguished guests from Korean society and the German community in Seoul attended the party.
From the Korean society came Rep. Kim Jong-in (former leader of the main opposition Minjoo Party), Rep. Nah Kyung-won of the ruling Saenuri Party and other prominent persons such as former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and former Minister of FinanceSarong Il. From the media came Chairman Lee Kyung-ski of The Korea Post, publisher of three English and two Korean-language news media organizations.
