South Koreans celebrate National Day in Bangkok

BANGKOK, October 3 (TNA) - South Koreans in Thailand celebrate their National Day, which falls on October 3, at an event organized by the South Korean Embassy in Bangkok. Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana and Minister Attached to the Prime Minister's Office Varathep Rattanakorn were among distinguished guests attending the South Korean National Day celebration event, held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok on Wednesday night. South Korean Ambassador to Thailand Jeon Jae-man noted that Thailand and South Korea have had close diplomatic ties for more than 50 years since 1958 and Thai soldiers even sacrificed to assist South Korea during the Korean War in 1950. The South Korean top envoy pointed out that Bangkok and Seoul have enjoyed close relations at the leadership and general public levels, as, for instance, Thai people like Korean drama, K-pop and the Korean language, while Korean people like Thai food, Thai traditional massage and Thai boxing. The South Korean ambassador said he hopes the establishment of the Korean Cultural Center in Bangkok earlier this year will bring more cultural exchanges and close ties between people of the two countries. Regarding economic ties, two-way trade between Thailand and South Korea reached 13 billion US dollars last year and the leaders of the two countries promised at last November's regional summit to double the volume of their bilateral trade within the next five years. The South Korean top envoy also proposed more South Korea's investment projects in Thailand, particularly those for infrastructure development, including water management systems, citing that South Korean investment projects in Thailand have been less than those in other countries in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). (TNA)