Ambassador and Mrs. Singhara Na Ayudhaya of Thailand in Seoul hosted a reception at the Crystal Ballroom of Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Dec. 3, 2014 in celebration of the 87th Birthday Anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej if Thailand.

There were many guests from Korean society and the international community as well as the Diplomatic Corps.

The Korean guests included Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Education Hwang Woo-yea, Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik of CJ Group, Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik of The Korea Post, President Byeon Choon-Kwang of the General Affairs Institution of the Korean Buddhist Cheontae Order (KBCO), Chief Abbot Kim Wol-do of the Daegwang-sa Buddhist Temple, Vice Chairman Kiljung Hong of Modetour and District Sales Manager Young-Chul Han of Thai Airways International.

From the Diplomatic Corps came many mission chiefs who included Ambassadors William Paterson of Australia, Elisabeth Bertagnoli of Austria, Dato Haji Harun Ismail of Brunei Darussalam, Petar Andonov of Bulgaria, Tito Saul Pinilla Pinilla of Colombia, Grecia Fiodalicia Pichardo of Dominican Republic, Nikoloz Apkhazava of Georgia, Dulat Bakisher of Kazakhstan, Dato Rohana binti Ramli of Malaysia, Jose Luis Bernal of Mexico, Ganbold Baasanjav of Mongolia, Kaman Singh Lama of Nepal, Mohamed Salim Alharthy of Oman, Zahid Nasrulah Khan of Pakistan, Konstantin V. Vnukov of Russia, Tissa Wijeratne of Sri Lanka, Hernani Filomena Coelho Da Silva of Timor Leste, Mohamed Ali Nafti of Tunisia, Hakan Okcal of Turkey, Vasyl Marmazov of Ukraine and Bakhtier N. Ibragimov of Uzbekistan.

Following the national anthems of the two countries, there was a welcome speech by Ambassador Ayudhaya and a congratulatory one by DPM Hwang. Excerpts follow:

Ambassador Ayudhaya:

The Kingdom of Thailand has a history of more than one millennium and that in the past the Kings of Thailand not only ruled the country but also safeguarded the country defending it through the wars. This is why the Thai people revere and respected their Kings.

With the passage of time, he said, the role of the Kings has increased and developed. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, since his coronation in 1945, has displayed an outstanding leadership and played the central role in the development of the country contributing to the promotion of happiness and prosperity of the people.

During his rule, King Bhumibol Adulyadej has visited every nook and corner of the country listening to the voices of the people and has led a total of over 4,000 different products for the development of the country in various areas, including agriculture, livestock, fishing, prevention of natural calamities and improvement of the living standard of the people--with the result that Thailand is now the top-notch agricultural products exporting country in the world.

DPM Hwang:

Since the establishment of the diplomatic ties between Thailand and Korea in 1958, two countries have been advancing our cooperative ties. As a result, the bilateral trade volume grew to 13.3 billion dollars last year, and our people to people exchange amounts to 1.7 million every year.

Right at this moment, twenty three thousand people from Thailand are working hard in various industrial sites in Korea, playing a very important role in Korea’s economic development. Moreover, through the 3,000 Thai daughter-in laws living in Korea, Thailand and Korea has effectively become as close as in-laws.

Also, Phuket and Pattaya, also known as the “Pearls of Asia”, are the most popular honeymoon destinations for many newlyweds in Korea.
Thailand is the epicenter of the so-called Korean wave, and there is a great demand for Korean language education. In fact, in 2012, Psy, the Korean pop sensation of the famous “Gangnam Style”, was invited to the celebration event of the birthday of His Majesty the King.

I would like to note that I am also the President of the Korea-Thailand Parliamentarian’s Friendship Association.

The reason I took this position is because I personally believe our bilateral relationship is very crucial. Not only that, as Deputy Prime Minister of Korea, I will do my best to strengthen our bilateral friendship further.

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