The Consulate-General in Sendai, Japan, has won the 2011 Diplomat of the Year Award, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Tuesday.

Conferred by Yeongsan Foundation in recognition of contributions to diplomacy, the award is given in two sectors -- the government sector and the civilian sector.

“In the government sector, the award goes to Consulate-General in Sendai which showed exemplary consulate services for Koreans overseas in the aftermath of an earthquake in Japan in March last year,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Cho Byung-jae said.

In the civilian sector, Kim Djun-kil, visiting professor of Korean Studies at the University of Asia & the Pacific in the Philippines, has won the award for his promotion of Korea’s image overseas, the ministry said.

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan awarded the two in a hotel in Seoul on Tuesday evening.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)