Over 100 members of the diplomatic corps, Korean government officials, the Seoul mayor and the heads of district offices, military cadets and scholars gathered in southern Seoul for the Korea JoongAng Daily’s Public Diplomacy Night to honour diplomats’ contribution to local outreach and peace on the Korean Peninsula, said EU Delegation.

Ambassadors and their spouses from nearly 40 countries attended the event, which was held for the second time this year and co-hosted by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies. Diplomatic Corps. who joined the 2nd Public Diplomacy Night, included Oman Amb. Mohamed Salim Alharthy(Dean of the Seoul Diplomatic Corps.), EU Amb. Michael Reiterer & his spouse, Paraguay Amb. Irineo Raul Silvero Silvagni, Thailand Amb. Singtong Lapisatepun & his spouse, Myanmar Amb. Thura Thet Oo Maung, Hungary Amb. Mozes Csoma & his spouse, Azerbaijan Amb. Ramzi Teymurov & his spouse, Ireland Amb. Julian Clare & his spouse, Georgia Amb. Otar Berdzenishi, Germany Amb. Stephan AUER, Costra Rica Amb. Rodolfo Solano Quiros, Kenya Amb. Mohamed Abdi Gello, Latvia Amb. Peteris Vaivars, Qatar Amb. Mohamed Abdulla Al-Dehaimi, Norway Amb. Frode Solverg & his spouse, Ecuador Amb. Oscar Gustavo Herrera Gilbert & his spouse, Iraq Amb. Hayder Shiya Al-Barrak & his spouse, Rwanda Amb. Isumbingabo Emmafrancoise, Canada Amb. Michael Danagher & his spouse, Egypt Amb. Hazem M. Fahmy, Singapore Amb. Yip Wei Kiat, Belarus Amb. Andrei Popkov & his spouse, and last but not least Jordan Amb. Adel Mohammad Adaileh & his spouse. etc.

According to the EU Delegation, officials gathered at the event agreed diplomacy is increasingly being practiced by nontraditional actors. But speakers also focused on the role of public diplomacy in bringing about a denuclearized and peaceful Korean Peninsula.

EU Amb. Michael Reiterer, Ambassador of the European Union to Korea received the Public Diplomacy Ambassador Award of 2018 on the podium. “Public diplomacy is as much about listening as it is about talking, as much about understanding as it is about explaining - it is about communication as opposed to disseminating information only,” said Ambassador Reiterer. “The goal is to create a better understanding, a basis for cooperation leading to joint action and mutual support because we know we share interests and values, we know what we have to work or fight for, to realize or to defend.”

He added that the diplomatic corps’ contribution to public diplomacy to enhance understanding and cooperation with the Korean people “will also contribute to the overarching goal here on the peninsula - peace through denuclearisation followed by cooperation and development.”, according to the EU Delegation.