Belgium celebrates this year 120 years of diplomatic relations with South Korea. On March 23, 1901, Belgium and Korea signed a treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation.
Belgium was one of the first countries in the world to recognize the independence of the Republic of Korea. A few years later, our country also did not hesitate to join with over 3,000 volunteers the UN forces that fought for freedom and democracy in the Korean War between 1951 and 1953.
Korea and Belgium have a long history of friendship and enjoy strong political, economic, academic and cultural ties, as illustrated by the State visit to Korea of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde in 2019, the second in the history of our bilateral diplomatic relations. Belgium and Korea are political partners. Our countries share a common commitment to the defense of values such as democracy, human rights, international cooperation and multilateralism as well as free trade.
Both Belgium and South Korea have experienced high economic growth since the 1950s. Our country wants to deepen relations with this strong Asian economy and member of the G20 and cooperate more in future-oriented sectors such as IT, life sciences, the transition to green energy and circular economy – without losing sight of our good trade results in more traditional branches such as the automotive and chemical industries.
More information on the relations between Belgium and South Korea and the program of the celebrations of this anniversary are available on the following website: https://koreabelgium120.com, as well as the video message sent by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sophie Wilmès on this occasion.
