A few days ago, when a child of a newly arrived Korean diplomat joined his school in Beirut, the first question he got from his Lebanese classmates was whether he was able to sing and dance to the popular Korean song “Gangnam Style.”

Today we live in an interconnected world. People-to-people connectivity that governments have championed for decades is being achieved in the cultural arena among younger generations, undeterred by borders and physical distances.

In the past, when it came to promoting relations between countries, we generally regarded it as exchanging visits of high-ranking officials. Over time, we began to realize that the exchange of goods and services did a better job in connecting countries, which is now referred to as “globalization.”

These days, culture brings together countries much closer -- not only in the area of arts but also through popular culture and sporting games, which provide common platforms where people from different backgrounds and nationalities can gather and feel as though they belong to a common community. This is all the more true particularly between countries that are geographically farther apart.

Against this backdrop, it is highly commendable that Korea and Lebanon signed an agreement on cultural cooperation on Sept. 25, marking their third bilateral pact. Aimed at galvanizing people-to-people connectivity between the two countries, this new treaty will certainly open paths also for business-to-business and government-to-government connectivity in the long run.

Lebanon, a beautiful country of cedar trees located at the basin of the Mediterranean Sea, shares surprisingly many similarities with Korea. It has an abundance of historical heritage dating back thousands of years and is surrounded by beautiful mountains. Like Korea, Lebanon has a war-torn history. Nonetheless, the Lebanese people have always dared to meet the challenges imposed on them and never failed to overcome whatever obstacles and difficulties they faced. Every day I come across world top brilliance, intelligence, political tolerance and cultural diversity at every corner of the lives of the Lebanese people.

As a Korean ambassador to Lebanon, I have witnessed tremendous potential for the two countries to shore up a win-win economic and trade partnership. Lebanon has a stable and prosperous economy based on its solid services sector and regional networks. Meanwhile, Korea has top-quality goods and cutting-edge technology with competitive prices. The partnership between the two economies will render a great increase in the welfare of both peoples without harming each others’ key industries. Closer economic collaboration between Korean goods and the Lebanese services sector networks will help the two countries expedite new and bigger markets. This is something the two governments, together with their business sectors, need to explore as urgently as possible.

At the same time, we need partnerships between entrepreneurs and companies, for which I believe the cultural agreement will pave the way. The pact will consolidate the foundation for bilateral cooperation forged by two economic treaties concluded previously -- one on investment protection and promotion in 2006 and the other on trade and economic cooperation in 2005.

Now let us look forward to seeing art corps, K-pop concerts, joint performances by students and scholars, or sports games in both Lebanon and Korea. Then we will see Korean businesses enjoying Lebanese services, and Lebanese people carrying Korean high-tech electronic devices.

With the two countries playing bridge roles between neighbor countries and remote continents, their closer ties will provide a region-to-region highway for various fields where people in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe will benefit altogether. We will open up another gateway for world peace and harmony.

By Kim Byoung-gi, Korean ambassador to Lebanon