President Lord Kerr,
 Honorary President Dr. Han Seung-soo,
 Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

    I am delighted to host this luncheon and speak in such exalted company. At the same time, I would like to ask for your kind understanding regarding the fact that although my Minister was originally pencilled in to deliver this speech, he has not been able to come since he had to fly to Bali to attend the Forum for East Asia and Latin America Cooperation.    

   To begin with, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to President Lord Kerr and Dr. Han Seung-soo and Dr. Park Jin for their outstanding stewardship.

   My thanks also goes to all the participants and organizers of this Forum for their sheer dedication to the cause of bringing the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom even closer.

   I have no doubt that this Forum will provide a timely opportunity for our two countries to reflect on where we stand today and where we ought to be tomorrow.

   Ladies and Gentlemen,

   The Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom will celebrate the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year.

   However, it is little known that our first encounter actually dates back to over 200 years ago when we barely knew anything about each other and had no intercourse at all. Let me just remind you of our humble beginnings.

   In 1797, Lieutenant William Broughton wrote Voyages of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, in which he gave a vivid account of how the Koreans' small eyes resembled the Chinese and how they had treated his party with so much curiosity and suspicion.

   Interestingly enough, the same incident was also recorded by a Korean scholar named 정동유 in "주영편". The Koreans, however, failed to recognize the British and wrote "a group of Dutch anchored off the coast of Busan."

   It all started from there. 

   Ladies and Gentlemen,

   Since that time, we have witnessed great strides in the ROK-UK relations, and the two countries have grown into good friends and indispensable partners on the global stage.

   Here are just a few of the plethora of evidences of our blossoming relations.

   The trade volume between the two countries exceeded 11 billion dollars last year, which marks more than a thousand-fold increase compared to just half a century ago.

   People-to-people exchanges both at government and civil level are also steadily on the rise.

   Against this backdrop, President Park Geun-hye will pay a state visit to the UK later this year, which I’m sure will boost our relations even further. Indeed, it is rather fitting that the first lady to become President in the Northeast Asian region will be presented with the opportunity to pay her homage to the original ‘Iron Lady’ at first hand in her inaugural year at the helm.

   Furthermore, we are also seeing an increase in inter-parliamentary exchanges, thanks to the outstanding services rendered by Sir John Stanley and other members of the ROK-UK Parliamentary Friendship Association.

   Harry Potter became the favourite read of the kids and adults alike in Korea, while Psy’s hypnotic rythms continue to enthrall the British public.

   Ladies and Gentlemen,

   Guided by shared values and trust, the UK and Korea are going one step further to devote themselves to tackling various global challenges.

   As is well known, the United Kingdom has been playing a leading role in initiating important agenda items in many of the global issues.

   In a manner befitting its noble willingness to take on the responsibility, the UK triggered the discourse on climate change as early as in the 1980s, and more recently on cyber security and the prevention of sexual violence.

   And today, these initiatives are shared - and sometimes succeeded - by Korea, and the two countries are working in tandem to reach a common goal.

   In this sense, it is no coincidence that Korea launched the Global Green Growth Institute - to which the UK handed over its instrument of ratification last month - and that it will be hosting the Conference on Cyberspace later this year.

   Furthermore, the UK firmly stood by Korea in responding to a series of provocations and threats by North Korea.

   The UK exercised exceptional leadership in pulling out the G8 Foreign Minister's Meeting Statement, which condemned in the strongest possible terms North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

   Ladies and Gentlemen,

   The practice of cooperation and collaboration at each of the important junctures that I have just mentioned have become the foundation of our strong and reliable partnership.

   But this does not mean that nothing more can be done.

   Earlier this year, President Park Geun-hye announced four tenets of statecraft that will guide the Korean government in all its endeavours : economic revival, happiness for the people, cultural enrichment, and laying the foundations for peaceful unification.

   We all know that the UK is a pioneer in many of the fields related to these four tenets :

It is one of the first welfare states.

It is a country of the Beatles and Shakespeare and indeed, Harry Potter.

The idea of "creative economy", now en vogue in Korea, was born in the UK.

   We still have so much to share and learn from each other, and this gives me confidence that our future journey will be filled with excitement. 

   Ladies and Gentlemen,

   Lord Palmerston once famously quipped that we have no eternal allies or perpetual enemies in international relations. The natural response of a diplomat like me to this monumental statement is, of course, to nod in solemn agreement.

   However, whenever I survey the sheer dynamism of the ROK-UK relations, I am tempted to believe otherwise.

   We have people who can conjure up a glorious exception. We have people who can, and will make it last. Those people, needless to say, are you and I.

   I believe that today's robust exchange of views and ideas will shed light on the way forward for our two countries and be a valuable source of inspiration for our two governments.

   And on that note, let me propose a toast to the success of this Forum and to the lasting friendship between the UK and Korea that will put Lord Palmerston to shame!

Cheers!         /End/