The Latvian Embassy in Seoul celebrated its National Day and the silver jubilee of its relations with Korea last week, promoting the country’s tourism, cultural and environmental assets around the Baltic Sea.

The holiday on Nov. 18 marks the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia in 1918, when the country declared independence from Russia after more than 200 years of occupation.

Latvia was subsumed into the Soviet Union in 1940, but became a vibrant democracy and market economy following the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc. It became a member of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 2004 and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development this year. 

The Baltic nation established diplomatic relations with South Korea in 1991, and the two opened embassies in each other’s countries last year and in 2013, respectively.

“Latvia and Korea are like-minded partners, sharing strong diplomatic ties based on common values of democracy and the rules-based international system,” Latvian Ambassador to Korea Peteris Vaivars said at a reception in Seoul on Thursday.

Over the past 25 years, the two countries have bolstered cooperation in commerce, culture and community ties, he added, highlighting exchanges in music, art and design and sports in particular.

Following Seoul’s inauguration of a diplomatic mission in the Latvian capital of Riga -- the only Korean embassy in the Baltic States -- Latvia followed suit last year. Vaivars is the first residing ambassador. He was previously posted in Tokyo as the top Latvian diplomat, also overseeing Korea.

“Latvia has prospered for centuries as the center of rich culture and art, and a commercial hub of the Baltic Sea connecting Europe, Russia and Central Asia,” said Kim Hyoung-zhin, Korea’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs.

Of interest, Kim added, Riga has much well-preserved architecture dating back as far as the Middle Ages, earning it the nickname “the Pearl of the Baltic Sea.” Designated the European Cultural Capital in 2014, Riga has one of the largest collections of Art Nouveau buildings in the world. The capital’s historic center was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, with many buildings constructed between the 16th and 19th centuries.

A major trading hub of northern Europe since its founding in 1201, Riga is the largest city in any of the Baltic States and home to one-third of Latvia’s 2 million people.

The capital offers a myriad of festivals and performing arts throughout the year, including choral, opera and ballet concerts and art exhibitions. The number of Korean tourists to Latvia increased 60 percent last year from 2014.

Currently, some 70 Latvians are residing in Korea, roughly 30 of them students at various universities and the rest working in diverse fields. About 30 Korean students are enrolled in Latvian universities, taking classes in English. The Sejong Institute opened its branch at the Riga Technical University this year, offering Korean language and cultural courses.

In an interview with The Korea Herald last week, Vaivars said the top priority in bilateral relations is to facilitate trade and investment, “given that political ties are very smooth and cordial with no conflicting interests.”

“It’s hard to develop robust economic cooperation overnight,” he said. “There is no business if there is no trust. Our main task is to put Latvia on the minds and consciousness of people.”

Noting that two-way trade and investment were miniscule when he first became an ambassador to Japan in 2006, Vaivars said commerce had gradually picked up during the eight years of his tenure. He asserted that “trade will naturally come once we create images of our country” through networking and promotion.

Latvia is a multiethnic society with 62 percent of population being Latvian, 26 percent Russian and the rest mostly Belarusians, Ukrainians, Poles, Lithuanians and others. Its economy is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises, which strive to strengthen their competitiveness in the global market with specialized niche products. 

According to Vaivars, Latvia is “one of the greenest nations in the world,” with a lush, flat land full of pristine forests, rivers and lakes that produce clean air, water and food.

“Our products are made from our clean environment, and we are a regional leader in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food products, furniture, fashion and design,” he said.

Popular Latvian food products are seafood, dairy, chocolate and juice, and the country’s aesthetic and functional designs – resembling the simplistic, utilitarian style of Scandinavia -- are embodied in fashion and furniture. Many Ikea products are made in Latvia.

Latvijas Finieris, a company that produces specialized plywood parts as an isolation material inside LNG tankers, has partnerships with Korean enterprises.

Latvia offers integrated tourism opportunities with the other Baltic states -- Estonia and Lithuania -- as well as Finland. Riga is just 300 kilometers from the Estonian capital Tallinn and from the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, but the three countries still maintain different cultures, histories and languages.

There are over 12,000 rivers in Latvia, along which people enjoy fishing, hunting and other outdoor sports.

Pinning hopes on the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games, the envoy said his country was a strong competitor in bobsleigh, biathlon, skeleton and ice hockey. Cooperation with Korea is growing across various winter sports, he added.

“People know that Santa Claus is from Finland, but not that many know the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree comes from Latvia,” the ambassador said, referring to the first chronicled celebration in 1510.

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)