Ministers gather to make Asian culture flourish

Culture ministers representing South East Asian nations recently gathered in Korea to share views about how to help Asian culture flourish.

The 1st Korea-Southeast Asian Culture Ministers Meeting held in Gwangju, Jeollanam-do in South Korea' s South Jeolla Province brought together culture ministers from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as Korea.

The representatives discussed ways of enhancing cultural cooperation and exchanges among Asian nations.

On the agenda was the strengthening of cooperation between Korea and Southeast Asian nations via the 'Asia Culture Complex' due for completion in 2014.

Under construction in the host city, the facility, consisting of five buildings: the Exchange Centre for Democracy and Peace; the Cultural Creation Centre; the Asian Culture Information Centre; the Asian Arts Theatre and the Cultural Centre for Children, will present an Asian culture complex designed to spread Asian culture and boost mutual sharing of different cultures and arts.

At the meeting, the culture representatives shared a variety of opinions on cooperative measures in terms of cultural arts, the culture industry, cultural assets, and tourism.

The minutes of the meeting specify that the participating nations will keep working to introduce their own rich, diverse cultural assets and arts and bring cultural festivals to the Asia Culture Complex so that the peoples of different cultures can feel and share the diversity of their cultures.

During his keynote speech, Korean Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Yoo Jin-ryong stated "we, Korea and these 10n Southeast Asian nations should work closely to make the Asia Culture Complex an effective cooperation venue to promote mutual understanding, preserve cultural legacies, and enforce professional competency in the culture and arts field."

During their six-day stay in Korea from 4th to 9th September, the invited delegations also participated in other cultural events including the Asia Tradition Orchestra featuring the traditional musical instruments of Korea and Southeast Asian nations, the 2013 Gwangju World Music Festival, and the Gwangju Design Biennale 2013.

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