Holds Joint Opening For Muslims In South Korea, Foreign Minister Park Jin: Ramadan Is More Than Just A Month Of Fasting, This Is Time For Solidarity

JAKARTA - Foreign Minister Park Jin stressed the importance of solidarity when Muslims celebrate the holy month of Ramadan in Korea, when they host a breaking of the fast together last weekend.

"Ramadan is more than just a fasting month. This is a time of solidarity. Over the past three years, we have become increasingly aware of the deep meaning of human relations in this world, which reminds us that no one is an island," said Minister Park ahead of the iftar event together. March 27th.

"All mankind have the same suffering and this fosters a sense of the same fate and responsibility. However, there are still many people around the world who are suffering tremendous suffering - either due to poverty, disaster or conflict," he continued.

On the occasion, South Korea's Foreign Minister also expressed sympathy to people in need, especially those affected by the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, affirming Korea's steadfast support for the affected territories.

On the same occasion, Chafik Rachadi, Morocco's ambassador to Korea and the Dean of the Arab Diplomatic Corps in Seoul, noted the deepening friendship between Korea and Islamic countries.

"Today's event not only promotes understanding friendship and cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Arab and Islamic countries, but also serves as an opportunity to spread universal values of religion, solidarity, and tolerance," said Rachadi.

The Moroccan ambassador stressed the spiritual nature of Ramadan, which reinforces the principles of tolerance and coexistence recommended by Islam, expressing gratitude to the ministry that has hosted a dinner to commemorate the event.

"This shows that Korea is a multicultural society that really respects Islam and friendship. I want to use this opportunity to reaffirm the strong desire ( Arab and Islamic community), to work together in building long-term friendship and partnerships between our country and the government and the people of the Republic of Korea," he said.

It is known that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has held this event since 2004 to promote cultural understanding. However, this was stopped in 2020 to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, more than 170 guests attended the event, including diplomats as well as professors, students and business people from member countries of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Korea.

Those present included Professor Emeritus of Arabic Studies at Myongji University, Choi Young-Gil, who was the first Korean-Muslim to fully translate the Koran from Arabic to Korean and recipient of King Faisal's International Award for Services to Islam.

There are also professors of Alexandria University, Sofia Elkhouly, known for her calligraphy incorporating Korean and Arabic, as well as Mohammed Galal and Hayder Albayati, winners of last year's Korean-Arab pitching idea-up competition to a number of Muslim artists such as Samy Rashad, Oumaima Fatih, Zahid Hussain and Kim Miso.