Although it has been 25 years since South Korea and the Czech Republic forged diplomatic ties, it was only in 2005 that Koreans were introduced to the central European state’s culture, history and food, through the popular Korean drama “Lovers in Prague.”

A decade after the hit drama bridged mutual interests in both countries, South Korea and the Czech Republic are now ready to expand their ties in major fields including politics, economy and technology. President Park Geun-hye’s visit to the Czech Republic last week has laid a foundation for strengthening bilateral ties as she agreed to enhance their strategic partnership.

Park was the first Korean president to visit the country in 20 years. Choosing the Czech Republic as her last state visit this year signifies her eagerness to deepen the bilateral ties through cultural diplomacy and economic cooperation, according to officials.

 

On Wednesday, Park and her Czech counterpart Milos Zeman signed 18 memorandums of understanding on cooperation in science, information and communications technologies, culture, health care and other areas. Cooperation in the nuclear sector was one of the highlights, as they agreed to collaborate for Prague’s project to build and maintain additional nuclear power plants. The agreement will pave the way for Korean firms to join the project estimated to be worth more than 10 trillion won ($8.6 billion).

Under the MOU on constructing new nuclear reactors, the two countries agreed to cooperate in building, running and maintaining the nuclear facilities, as well as in exchanging related technologies. They also agreed to launch a panel for joint research on the construction of nuclear reactors and joint forays into third markets. Seoul has long had its eyes on the lucrative project, with the Czech Republic expected to begin the bidding process around 2019. In February when Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka visited Seoul, Park expressed her country’s hopes to join the project.

In interviews with the Czech media, Park said the two countries could achieve a “win-win” outcome should the Czech Republic capitalize on Korea’s nuclear power technologies to construct its power plants.

Observers say that the U.S., Japan, Russia, France and China are all expected to vie with Korea for the Czech nuclear energy project.

Under the series of deals signed Wednesday, the two countries have expanded areas of bilateral cooperation -- which had hitherto been limited to the manufacturing sector -- to a variety of sectors including health care and medicines.

An Chong-bum, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, told reporters that South Korea could make inroads into the Czech health care market, worth $12 billion.

Park expressed her hopes for the Czech Republic to support her vision of peaceful unification of South and North Korea, touting the central European country’s successful transformation after the collapse of the Soviet-backed regime in Prague more than two decades ago.

Zeman said his country supported the unification of the Korean Peninsula, saying that South and North Korea would be united again in the not too distant future.

The leaders also agreed to make efforts to prod Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions and to join the international efforts to combat terrorism.

Park also held a separate meeting with Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka to discuss ways to boost cooperation in a wide range of areas. The leaders were meeting for second time this year. Sobotka visited Seoul in February to upgrade bilateral relations. Park also met Milan Stech, president of the Senate of the Czech Republic.

The Korean president also stressed the importance of expanding trade, investment and technological cooperation between the two countries at a joint business forum held later on Wednesday afternoon. The forum was originally scheduled to be held at a hotel in the capital city of the Czech Republic, but was moved to Prague Castle on the invitation of the Czech president.

To promote cultural cooperation, Park watched a Czech puppet show on Wednesday that features a South Korean traditional story at the National Marionette Theater in Prague.

Titled “In the Attic,” the puppet show was a collaborative work by artists from the two countries. Using traditional Korean pansori piece “Sugungga” as the main music and plot, the performance included rabbit and turtle marionettes created by Czech artist Jaroslav Dolezal.

After the performance, Park stressed the importance of cultural understanding and exchanges, and suggested creating new cultural content by starting more collaborative works.

“I hope that (creative people) of both countries meet and produce better cultural contents and people of both countries share their hearts through culture,” she said.

On Thursday, Park also received an artwork by Petra Bobalova, a female Czech painter who suffers from a developmental disorder, after her summit with the Czech premier. The surprise gift, titled “Owl of Wisdom,” was delivered by a 13-year-old pianist who also suffers from the disease. Bobalova said in a Korean message to Park that she painted a snowy owl to express the president’s wisdom and her dedication to the country. 

On Friday, Park watched, along with some 1,800 fans from the V4 countries, the first K-pop concert to be held in Prague. The lineup included boy band SHINee and girl group Red Velvet, as well as traditional Korean performances such as samulnori.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)