Today’s event featured an inspiring welcoming address by H.E. Mr. Andrew Chernetsky, Belarus’s ambassador to Korea, celebrating Belarus’s Independence Day and emphasizing the strong bonds between Belarus and South Korea.
In his speech, Ambassador Chernetsky reflected on Belarus’s historic victory in the Great Patriotic War, which is celebrated on Independence Day, honoring those who fought for the country's sovereignty. He highlighted the significant progress made in bilateral relations over the past year, noting that this period has seen notable positive developments despite global political turbulence.
Among the contemporary collaborations, the ambassador pointed out the participation of a South Korean delegation in Belarus’s presidential election observer mission for the first time, including Dr. Kwaak YoungHoon, who is present at the event and is expected to share his impressions of Belarus. The ambassador also mentioned Korean film industry representatives taking part in Minsk’s “Listapad” film festival and Korea’s acclaimed bass Lee Yeong Song scheduled for a performance at the upcoming “Slavic Bazaar 2025” festival in Vitebsk.
Cultural and educational exchanges, as emphasized by the ambassador, serve as the backbone of Belarus-Korea relations, maintaining strong people-to-people connections even amid political challenges. He expressed his confidence that the two countries will strengthen cooperation in various fields, especially noting the surge in bilateral trade, which has increased more than 2.6 times, alongside growing economic exchanges and mutual visits.
Finally, the ambassador invited Dr. Kwaak YoungHoon—an esteemed Korean architect and engineer—to share his unbiased insights about Belarus, emphasizing the importance of personal experiences and direct communication in fostering genuine diplomacy.
Concluding his speech, Ambassador Chernetsky extended warm wishes for happiness, success, peace, and prosperity for the Korean people, underscoring the enduring importance of Belarusian tradition and national heritage.
The following is the full text of H.E. Mr. Andrew Chernetsky, Belarus's ambassador, and his welcoming speech.
Welcoming Address by Belarus Ambassador
H.E. Mr. Andrew Chernetsky
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished Guests,
Let me sincerely welcome you to a celebration on the occasion of Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus. Despite the centuries-old history, my country celebrates the national holiday on the day of the liberation of the Belarusian capital, the city of Minsk, from the Nazi invaders. That war is often called World War II. But in the history of the Republic of Belarus, as well as in the history of other republics of the former USSR, this war entered under the Great Patriotic War. For our ancestors, then it was really a battle for their Fatherland, for the right to be free, not to be enslaved by invaders. Together, our countries survived and won. The surrender of fascist Germany 80 years ago marked the victory in the Great Patriotic War. This victory is forever captured in history, which no one will be able to rewrite or distort. The people of the Republic of Belarus, celebrating Independence Day, will always remember about this date, and the heroes who gave their lives for the independence of our homeland.
In the solemn speech on the occasion of Independence Day, it is usually customary to talk about the development of relations between our countries over the past year. Today, I am pleased to note the positive shifts in bilateral contacts between the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Korea. For the first time, a delegation from South Korea took part in the mission of international observers for the election of the President of the Republic of Belarus. One of the members of the South Korean delegation, Dr. KwaakYoungHoon, is with us today at this event, and I would be extremely grateful to him if he could say a few words about his impression from visiting my country.
Also, representatives of the South Korean cinema industry took part in the jury of the “Listapad -2024” film festival, held in Minsk, November last year. Literally a few days, the city of Vitebsk in the north of Belarus will host the largest art festival “Slavic Bazaar -2025”, which will be the first to perform for an honored artist from South Korea, the owner of many prizes and awards, bass Lee Yeong Song. I really hope that today we can also evaluate his talent live.
Speaking about the development of bilateral relations, I deliberately attached great importance to cultural cooperation between Belarus and the Republic of Korea. The current period of foreign policy turbulence, unfortunately, complicates the political dialogue between countries. This is also reflected in the communication of the Belarusian and South Korean foreign ministries. But the ongoing activation of cooperation through culture and education between our countries is the best example of the fact that the dialogue between the Belarusian and South Korean peoples develops normally, even despite some “political cooling”. In my opinion, the dialogue between peoples is more important than the dialogue between politicians. With great enthusiasm, I took the words of the recently elected president of the Republic of Korea his Excellency Lee Jae-myung, who noted that the purpose of foreign policy should be to improve the welfare of people. I am sure that in the near future the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Korea will be able to intensify other areas of cooperation, for the benefit of the peoples of our countries.
And our countries really have something to offer each other. The best confirmation of my words is the growth of interest by businessmen of both South Korea and Belarus, to the development of interaction. This is also expressed in a multiple increase in trade indicators between the two countries, including Belarusian exports to Korea - more than 2.6 times. The embassy welcomes the mutual increase in the number of business trips. The mission of experts from the Korean Food and Drug Safety Agency recently visited the Republic of Belarus with the mission to inspect Belarusian diary industry enterprises. In their turn, Belarusian specialists attended specialized exhibitions of medical equipment in Korea. All mentioned above and many other areas of economic interaction between the businessmen of the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Korea are successfully developing and have significant growth potential. This is real people’s diplomacy - when, even despite the pause taken by politicians and diplomats, relations between the peoples of our countries are developing on a mutually beneficial basis. This is what I strive for and how I see my mission as an ambassador - to strengthen the connections between the people of Belarus and the Republic of Korea on a mutually beneficial basis.
Concluding my speech, I would like to ask Dr. Kwaak YoungHoonto say a few words about the Republic of Belarus. In the Republic of Korea, Dr. Kwaak is a very famous figure. Architect, planner, engineer, political scientist, educational philosopher, sportsman, graduate of MIT and Harvard University, who stood at the origins of many national building undertakings, contributing to the miraculous development of the Republic of Korea – from the 1988 Olympics in Seoul to the architectural transformation of the South Korean capital. He was recently in my country. In the Republic of Korea, not everyone is quite aware of the Republic of Belarus. Very often, the opinion about my country is formed on the basis of judgments of those who have never visited Belarusian land. Therefore, it is extremely important for me of any unbiased opinion of a person who could tell about what he saw personally. Direct personal communication on any topics, freedom from stereotypes imposed by someone, finding common mutually beneficial areas of cooperation are unattainable conditions for successful diplomacy between any countries, and Belarusian-South Korean relations is no exception.
Dear guests, distinguished colleagues, friends,
Let me sincerely thank you once again for sharing with us this Day – the National Day of Belarus. It is an integral part of our heritage, our national memory. The people of Belarus keep this heritage in their hearts, in Belarusian traditions, in Belarusian history. And so, it will always be.
I would like to propose a toast:
I wholeheartedly wish to you and all the people of the Republic of Korea happiness, success, peaceand prosperity.
Thank you very much.
