The Korea Foundation invited 14 distinguished individuals in the cultural sector from 13 countries to Korea from March 25 through 31, 2018 under its Invitation Program. Composed of heads of each countries’ tourism authorities, museums, Olympic committees and other organizations, the delegation to Korea visited relevant organizations and sought ways to promote cooperation with their Korean counterparts.

Mohammad Taiyab Mirza, Director General of Tourism Malaysia, visited venues of the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games and the City Hall of Gangneung while Gustavo Dias Vaz Da Conceicao, President of the National Olympic Committee of Angola, visited the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee and other relevant organizations to be informed of the successful case of the recent Winter Olympics.

Papa Momar Diop, former Ambassador of Senegal to UNESCO and currently Vice Chair of the International Advisory Committee of UNESCO’s Memory of the World, has shown great interest in Korean cultural heritage since he participated in an international conference on Korea’s ary heritage held in Andong in 2016. This time he visited such institutions as the Korea National Commission for UNESCO and looked around various cultural heritage in Korea.

Also included in the delegation were heads of many prominent museums. Especially, William Griswold, Director and President of the Cleveland Museum of Art of the United States, known for his deep knowledge of Korean ceramics, met with the major counterparts in Korea; including Lee Sihyung, President, Korea Foundation; Bae Kidong, Director-General, National Museum of Korea; and Lee Jun, Vice President, Leeum Samsung Museum of Art. He discussed with them ways to promote exchange and expand the Korean gallery in the Cleveland Museum of Art.