First Korean Plaza Inaugurated in Europe

DRESDEN, Germany, March 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

On March 23, 2015, Dresden's First Mayor Dirk Hilbert inaugurated Europe's first Korean Plaza in the State Capital of Saxony. Together with S. E. Jae-shin Kim, the ambassador of the Republic of Korea, he unveiled a commemorative stone and plaque.

"This is the first plaza in Europe that is called Korean Plaza," the First Mayor said in honour of the new plaza. "The plaza gives the long-standing and enormously productive economic, scientific and cultural collaboration between Dresden and the Republic of Korea a permanent address in Dresden's topography. At the same time the new plaza is a symbol of Dresden's cosmopolitanism and solidarity with the Republic of Korea."

In his speech Mayor Hilbert referred to the political division that both countries have long suffered; and while Korea is still enduring that division today, the Mayor hopes it will end as peacefully and surprisingly as it did for Germany in 1990.

The Korean Plaza is located at a crossing in Dresden's district Friedrichstadt. In the coming years newly planted copper beech trees will grow to create a green roof and nine sculptures will be erected to remind the city of the district's historic personalities while offering places to sit and rest. The idea for the name Korean Plaza came during a visit by the President of the Republic of Korea, Park Geun-hye, to the State Capital Dresden in March 2014. In a meeting on March 19, 2015 the city council voted for Korean Plaza to be the new name for the plaza in the Dresden district Friedrichstadt. The Embassy of the Republic of Korea has assumed responsibility for all costs arising from the erection of the stone and the manufacturing of the plaque.

On-site pictures available for downloading here:  

http://datas.weichertmehner.com/koreanplaza.zip

Credits: City of Dresden

Dresden, City of Excellence - Nine reasons for the excellence of Dresden as a location for business and science:  http://www.dresden.de/invest

Please direct questions to:

WeichertMehner (agency)
Ulf Mehner, Robert Weichert
Telephone: +49-351-50140200
E-Mail: dmg@weichertmehner.com

State Capital of Dresden,
Kai Schulz, Spokesman,
Telephone: +49-351-4882390,
E-Mail: presse@dresden.de