S. Korea, China, Japan vow to cooperate for successful PyeongChang Olympics

SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Yonhap) -- Culture ministers of South Korea, China and Japan on Saturday agreed to cooperate for Seoul's successful hosting of the 2018 Winter Olympics and increased cultural exchanges among the three countries, the South Korean government said. During the 9th annual cultural ministers' talks held in Kyoto, Japan, South Korea's Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jong-whan emphasized the importance of PyeongChang Games' success as it is the first in a series of three global sporting events in Northeast Asia. The two other events are the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. Do asked for China and Japan's active cooperation and support, and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts, Luo Shugang and Yoshimasa Hayashi, vowed to render full support in response. Sharing the significance of culture and arts for a success in the Olympics, the three ministers agreed that their countries will co-host seven joint cultural programs for the PyeongChang Olympics. The events include a joint photo exhibition that runs from Sept. 5 to Nov. 30 at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, a PyeongChang festival of poets from the three countries (Sept. 14-17), and exchange performances of South Korea, China and Japan's top theater plays (Nov. 23-26). At the end of the one-day meeting, the officials signed an agreement on detailed plans for cultural exchanges among the countries. On the sidelines of the meeting, the ministers had one-on-one talks to discuss pending issues and ways to promote cultural exchanges between their countries. They will discuss the plans further in the 10th meeting to be held in Harbin, China, next year, officials said. Culture ministers of the three nations have met every year to promote cultural cooperation in Northeast Asia since the first meeting took place in Nantong, China, in 2007. sshim@yna.co.kr (END)