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| Retired Ambassador Lee Bok-hyung, left, guides former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, third from left, and his wife Yoo Soon-taek, fourth from left, during a visit to the Latin American Cultural Center and Museum in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, June 29. Korea Times photo by Kwon Mee-yoo |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his wife Yoo Soon-taek visited the Latin American Cultural Center and Museum to enhance understanding between Korea and Latin America, on June 29.
Located in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, the Latin American Cultural Center and Museum is the only museum dedicated to Latin America in Korea.
The museum was established by retired Ambassador Lee Bok-hyung and his wife Kappy Hong in 1994. Lee has an extensive diplomatic career in Latin America, serving as Korea's ambassador to Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Mexico from the 1970s until his retirement in 1993.
Lee and Hong collected a variety of artifacts during Lee's postings in Latin America, from ancient relics to contemporary art, and opened the museum after retirement. After years of expansion, the center is now complete with a museum, a gallery, a sculpture park, a religious exhibition hall, a ceramic mural and a research institute, and serves as a cultural hotbed for Latin American culture in Korea.
Ban, who has known Lee and Hong for years, appreciated their passion for promoting Latin American culture in Korea.
"Lee was posted to Central and South America for decades and he was one of the most passionate ones, visiting every nook and cranny of the continent," Ban said.
"I hope the Latin American Cultural Center and Museum will provide an opportunity to understand the history and culture of countries half a world away."
Then Mayor-elect of Goyang City Lee Dong-hwan, who took office on July 1, also visited the museum alongside Ban.
He vowed to provide support to the Latin American Cultural Center and Museum so that it can become a cultural institution for citizens.
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