Busan Mayor Park Hyungjoon Meets with Japanese Ambassador to Korea Koichi Mizushima

4 PM on the 11th at City Hall, Attending 'Korea-US-Japan Global Leadership Youth Summit' Visit to Busan

Mayor Park Hyungjun, "Let's Actively Promote Economic, Human, and Tourism Exchanges Between Busan and Japan"

On the afternoon of the 11th at 4 PM, Busan Mayor Park Hyungjoon met with Japanese Ambassador to Korea Koichi Mizushima at the International Protocol Room of Busan City Hall to discuss ways to promote mutual exchange and cooperation between Busan and Japan.

Busan Mayor Park Hyungjun Meets with Koichi Mizushima, Japanese Ambassador to Korea.

Since establishing a sister city relationship with Shimonoseki in 1976, Busan has successively formed sister and friendship city ties with Fukuoka, Osaka, and Nagasaki Prefecture. The city has been actively conducting exchange programs such as youth Baduk tournaments, donations of Korean books, overseas training for elementary school students, and reenactments of the Joseon Tongsinsa parade.

Koichi Mizushima, who presented his credentials as the new Japanese Ambassador to Korea this May, visited Busan for the first time to attend the '2024 Korea-US-Japan Global Leadership Youth Summit' and met with Mayor Park Hyungjoon on this occasion.

Mayor Park first expressed his gratitude to Ambassador Koichi for efforts to strengthen Korea-Japan relations, saying, "Thank you for visiting Busan to attend the '2024 Korea-US-Japan Global Leadership Youth Summit (July 11-13)' despite your busy schedule." He added, "I hope this event will serve as a great opportunity for the bonds between our two countries to deepen and for young people to grow into global leaders."

Mayor Park also stated, "The number of tourists visiting Busan has reached about 1.82 million, which is about 67% of the pre-COVID-19 level, and tourists from various countries are coming to Busan." He continued, "I hope the embassy will help attract more Japanese tourists to Busan. We are striving to make Busan a 'global hub city' to resolve issues such as balanced development and low birth rates in Korea."

In response, Japanese Ambassador to Korea Koichi Mizushima said, "Next year marks the 60th anniversary of Korea-Japan diplomatic relations, and Busan is a city with deep ties to Japan, so let's cooperate even more." He added, "Japan is also working to revitalize local regions through the development of the startup industry. Since both countries possess advanced technology, we can promote exchange and cooperation in various fields."

Mayor Park concluded the meeting by saying, "The 'Asia Startup Festival (FLY ASIA 2024)' hosted by Busan City will be held at BEXCO in Busan for two days starting October 1. As it is a venue where startups, investors, and stakeholders from across Asia gather to network and collaborate, I hope key Japanese stakeholders will participate. Let's work actively to vitalize exchanges in economy, human resources, and tourism between Busan and Japan."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.