Kazakhstan discusses new ways to solidify cooperation with Korea

Kazakh Ambassador to Korea Bakyt Dyussenbayev (seventh from left) and attendees pose for a group photo after attending a roundtable commemorating 30th anniversary of Kazakh-South Korea relations at Embassy of Kazakhstan in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Thursday.(Embassy of Kazakhstan in Seoul)

The Kazakh Embassy in Seoul discussed a strategic partnership, cultural linkages and new areas to solidify cooperation with Korea in a roundtable held as part of the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan-South Korea relations on Dec. 22.

Delivering a keynote speech at the roundtable, the Kazakh Ambassador to Korea Bakyt Dyussenbayev assessed significant achievements from the two countries’ political, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

The ambassador noted that trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Korea hit $5.8 billion in the last eleven months of 2022.

Korea ranks eighth among major investors in the Kazakh economy, Dyussenbayev said, pointing out that the gross inflow of direct investment from Korea to Kazakhstan amounted to $7.5 billion.

Also underlining civilizational links between the two countries, Dyussenbayev recommended archaeological studies of Wang-in to delve deeply into assessing linkages between the Korean Peninsula and the Eurasian region.

“Similar traditions and customs of Kazakh and Korean people’s everyday lives attest that we have the same genetic code,” he said.

According to Dyussenbayev, knives were found around Barabua, Kazakhstan in 1928. A similar weapon excavated in Gyerim-ro Tomb in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province in 1973 had an identical handle shape and inscription.

Kazakh Ambassador to Korea Bakyt Dyussenbayev delivers a keynote speech during a roundtable commemorating the 30th anniversary of Kazakh-Korea relations at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Thursday. (Embassy of Kazakhstan in Seoul)

"There were two cemeteries of Scythians which had many similarities with the tombs of the Silla Dynasty, from appearance to internal composition,” the ambassador said.

The Ural-Altaic ethnic and language family also ties the Kazakh and Korean languages together, the ambassador said. He showed Dangun, the mythological forefather of Koreans, on a Kazakh coin to the roundtable attendees.

The coin was issued in 2016 to commemorate the origins of Kazakhstan's diverse ethnic groups.

Speakers applauded the dynamics of the Kazakh-Korea strategic partnership and suggested ways to fortify new areas of Kazakh-Korean cooperation.

The event was attended by the heads of research centers, leading experts, representatives of the academic community and the media.

By Sanjay Kumar(sanjaykumar@heraldcorp.com)