Embassy Line

Korea Times

image from

Brazil celebrates Olympic countdown

Brazil celebrated the 100-day countdown to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the heart of Seoul, Korea's capital city, on April 27.

Brazilian colors — yellow and green — illuminated the landmark N Seoul Tower in Yongsan-gu. Seoul is one of the many cities, along with New York; Tokyo and Rome, which marked the countdown.

"This means we are exactly 100 days away from the most important international sporting event, in which thousands of athletes from all over the world will participate in a variety of competitions," Adriana Pereira, head of the economic, public diplomacy and press sections at the Embassy of Brazil, said.

"It is 100 days away from hoisting the flag bearing the five interlocking rings at our iconic Maracana stadium."

Pereira added, "Seeing the N Tower dressed in yellow and green to celebrate Rio 2016 and considering that Seoul was the host of the 1988 Olympiad, reminds us also of the ties of friendship and brotherhood that have united Korea and Brazil for over 50 years."

The Rio 2016 Olympic Games will begin at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 5.

French Embassy plugs into ‘hackathon'

The French Embassy is hosting a three-day "hackathon" at the Seoul National University on May 2-4.

Co-organized with the Goethe-Institut Korea and the university, the event begins with a symposium that includes six lectures that focus on the "theoretical approach of the digital economy and its impact on society."

The embassy said participants are expected to draw inspiration from the theories discussed to develop practical applications.

Peter Lee, a Korean game designer, entrepreneur and teacher, will moderate the hackathon.

Fifteen students or professionals from Germany's gamelab.berlin, France's Ecole Nationale du Jeu et des Medias Interactifs Numeriques and Korea's Seoul National University's Program for Information Science and Culture will take part.

Latin American films hit big screen

Six Latin American countries have combined to launch a Korean-first film festival that opened at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, today.

The embassies of Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela have picked some top movies for the "2016 Latin American Film Festival" to increase understanding of the region, including customs, values and idiosyncrasies. The three-day event was co-organized with the university and will be held on its campus.

"This festival is a different idea of promoting culture because it is a door to show not just culture but also Latin American talent," Ecuadorian Ambassador to Korea Oscar Herrera Gilbert said.

He said this would be an opportunity to promote cultural exchange so "Korean people will welcome Latin films as we are welcoming Korean drama and films."

Six films ― including Colombia's Del Amor Y Otros Demonios (2010), Paraguay's 7 Cajas (2012) and Peru's A Los 40 (2014) ― will be screened with English subtitles, while two will have Korean subtitles, according to the Embassy of Ecuador.

Polish Day held in Seoul

Polish Ambassador to Korea Krzysztof Maika hosted a "Polish Day" at the Cheonggye Plaza in Seoul on May 1.

According to the embassy, the event was designed to promote the country's culture and language, and Polish products available in Korea — including cosmetics, pottery and sweets.

Students from the Polish Department at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies gave performances showcasing Polish traditional costumes and folk dance.

Special booths were set up to present Polish literature that has been translated to Korean, including children's books and famous works of the Polish Nobel laureates Wislawa Szymborska and Henryk Sienkiewicz.