1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se hosted an Iftar dinner at the Minister’s official residence on August 1 to mark the Islamic holy month of Ramadan with around fifty people, including ambassadors in the ROK from member countries of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Korea-Arab Society’s board of directors, Islamic religious leaders in the ROK and other related figures.

* Iftar, which literally means to “break fasting,” refers to the first meal (dinner) Muslims have after a day of fasting on each day of the Ramadan month.

2. The Foreign Ministry has held an Iftar dinner during the period of Ramadan every year since 2004 to enhance its understanding on Islamic culture and further promote friendship with Islamic countries. This year’s Iftar marks the tenth of its kind.

3. In his speech at the Iftar dinner, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se looked at what the teachings of Islam, such as sharing and caring, respect and tolerance, and peace, mean for the ROK people of today. He also said that the ROK is willing to work towards a happier and more peaceful world.

o The Minister noted that the Muslim community in the ROK, which was first created by the Turkish soldiers who participated in the Korean War and cared for war orphans, has grown to be a 130,000-strong Muslim community, making the ROK society more multicultural and diverse. Minister Yun also urged young Muslims in the ROK to play a bridging role between the ROK and the Islam world in the future.

o In particular, Minister Yun reaffirmed the ROK government’s willingness to contribute to co-prosperity of the world based on its experiences of achieving democratization and industrialization after the Korean War so that peace and prosperity spreads beyond the Korean Peninsula to the global village. 


                          Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

*unofficial translation