Secretariat, Taipei City Government

On June 15, a delegation of five members led by Representative Chung Byung-Won of the Korean Mission in Taipei visited the Taipei City Government, and they were cordially welcomed by Mayor Ko Wen-Je, Deputy Mayor Huang Shan-Shan, and Commissioner of Mayor’s Office for External Affairs, Tom Chou.

Mayor Ko stated that in recent years, Taipei City and major cities in South Korea have had close interactions. For example, last year, Mayor Ko conducted video conferences with government officials of Daegu and Gyeonggi-do regarding the precious experiences of using technology to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic and to promote city governance. In addition, the Taipei City Government and the Korean Mission in Taipei cohosted a Korean speech contest. These experiences show that Taipei City is one step closer to becoming a first-rate international metropolitan.

Representative Chung stated that when he served in Vancouver, Canada, his wife visited Taiwan in 2018 for sightseeing and loved Taiwan’s customs, making him long to visit. Last Christmas Eve, he was appointed the new representative of the Korean Mission in Taipei, which was a dream come true for him. In the last 6 months, he has thoroughly enjoyed the great hospitality and beautiful scenery in Taipei, and he is very pleased.

Representative Chung also stated that before the pandemic, the number of tourists from South Korea to Taiwan has exceeded 1.2 million a year, and the number of tourists from Taiwan to South Korea was approximately 1.3 million a year. Now, the pandemic has gradually subsided, and South Korea has reopened its border. Foreign visitors who provide a negative test result of COVID-19 can enter South Korea without being put under quarantine. Thus, the number of foreign tourists traveling to South Korea has increased exponentially. Representative Chung hoped that Taiwan could open its border soon to restore the tourism prosperity between Taiwan and South Korea.

Ambassador Chou told Representative Chung that in the last 2 years, the Taipei City Government has been encouraging foreign diplomatic organizations in Taiwan to cohost cultural exhibitions and performances by offering cheap or free venues. Last year, 18 such events were held. Deputy Mayor Huang maintained that in August, Taipei will hold a City Expo. Representative Chung and friends from the Korean Mission in Taipei are all welcomed to participate.

Representative Chung replied that the Korean Mission in Taipei plans to hold a Korean clothing fashion event in Taipei in November. Also, he and his coworkers from the Korean Mission in Taipei will attend the City Expo as well as various cultural activities held by the Taipei City Government.

Mayor Ko stated that Taiwan and South Korea are competitive in sports and various industries, and baseball and semiconductor are two obvious examples. Representative Chung replied that regarding baseball, Taiwan is a respectable competitor for South Korea. As for TSMC and Samsung Group, both of them have outstanding performances in the global semiconductor industry supply chain. Both Taiwan and South Korea are critical export markets for each other, showing that there is much room for cooperation.