Consulate General of South Korea, Hong Kong explained

Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Hong Kong
Korean: 주 홍콩 대한민국 총영사관
Chinese: 大韓民國駐香港總領事館
Location:Admiralty, Hong Kong
Address:5-6F, Far East Finance Center 16, Harcourt Road
Consul General:Kim Weon-jin
Coordinates:22.2802°N 114.164°W
Website:http://hkg.mofa.go.kr/
Hangul:주 홍콩 대한민국 총영사관
Hanja:駐香港大韓民國總領事館
Rr:Ju Hongkong Daehanminguk Chongyeongsagwan
Mr:Chu Hongk'ong Taehanmin'guk Ch'ongyŏngsakwan

The Consulate General of South Korea in Hong Kong (Korean: 주 홍콩 대한민국 총영사관;) is a consular mission of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to Hong Kong and Macau. It is located at 5-6F, Far East Finance Center 16, Harcourt Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong.[1] It is one of the first South Korean overseas missions since the country's foundation,[2] [3] opened in British Hong Kong under approval of the United Kingdom in 1949, going through promotion and expansion in its history. Following the Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to China in 1997, the Consulate General was able to keep its presence according to a Sino-Korean agreement concerning foreign missions stationed in Hong Kong.

History

The foundation of the Korean consular mission in Hong Kong has a background of the country's external trade. With the trade between Korea and Hong Kong started in 1947 and the establishment of Anglo-Korean diplomatic relations in 1949, progress was gained on setting up a consulate.[4] On 8 February 1949, a letter from the British Government was sent to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) with approval on the Consulate.[5] Cha Kyun-chan, then Director of the MOFA's Investigation Bureau (Korean: 외무부조사국), was appointed as the first Consul to Hong Kong, and went to his post by plane on 9 April.[4] The Consulate was opened on 1 May,[6] making it one of South Korea's first five missions abroad since the establishment of ROK Government.[3]

On 29 November of the same year, the Consulate was promoted to the status of Consulate General,[6] with Lee Jung-bang, councillor of the Korean Embassy to the Republic of China (ROC) became the first Consul General under appointment of the Korean MOFA.[7] The Consulate General had its consular jurisdiction over both Hong Kong and Macau, and was relocated to several locations during the British colonial era, including Room 833-835, Man Yee Building, 67-71 Queen's Road,[8] Room 2107-9, Realty Building. 71 Des Voeux Road[9] and Korea Center Building, 3/F, 119-121, Connaught Road.[10]

In 1980s, hotline between the Korean Consulate General and the Chinese Xinhua News Agency's Hong Kong Branch became an important communication channel between Seoul and Beijing following the hijacking of CAAC Flight 296 in 1983 and the desertion of Chinese Navy's Torpedo Boat 3213 to Korea in 1985.[11] Also in 1985, in response to its contact to China on the field of economics, South Korea expanded the Consulate General on the mission's organization, function[12] and the scale of diplomatic corps assigned to it,[11] helping Korean companies and nationals in Hong Kong to trade with China.[12] Korean diplomats with higher level was also assigned to Hong Kong as mission chiefs.[11] Later in 1997, South Korea made consultation with China concerning the existence of the Korean Consulate General in Hong Kong, which was about to be transferred to China by the UK. On 15 April, resolution on the maintenance of Consulate General was made by the State Council of South Korea,[13] and the two countries reached an agreement on 24 April, allowing the Consulate General to keep its presence in Hong Kong, the new Special administrative regions of China.

On 6 October 2009, the Korean Consulate General celebrated the 60th anniversary of its establishment, and a banquet was hosted to enhance the globalization of Korean cuisine.[14] On 30 June of the same year, vacant space inside the Consulate General's auditorium and Consular Section (Korean: 민원실) was used to set up a new Cultural Center (Korean: 문화관)[14] with exhibition sites and several kinds of IT equipment for cultural exchange.[2] It was in February 2014 that the Consulate General opened its Korea Reference Room (Korean: 한국 자료실), which had a collection of 500 books in Korean, Chinese, English and 250 pieces of DVDs, containing resources like humanities, history, literature and publicity-related information issued by the Korean Government.[15]

Heads of mission

Heads of the South Korean mission to Hong Kong! No.!!Names !!Names in Hangul/Hanja!! Tenure started !!Tenure ended !! Ref
1Cha Kyun-chan Korean: 차균찬(車均燦) 16 April 194911 May 1949
2Korean: 김용식(金溶植) 11 August 194927 November 1949
1Lee Jung-bang Korean: 이정방(李鼎邦) 27 November 194920 December 1952
2Park Chang-joon Korean: 박창준(朴昌俊) 20 December 195223 August 1956
3Kang Choon-hee Korean: 강춘희(姜春熙) 23 August 195612 November 1960
4Choi Moon-kyung Korean: 최문경(崔文卿) 8 March 196111 July 1962
5Moon Duk-choo Korean: 문덕주(文德周) 11 July 196219 October 1964
6Chin P'il-sik Korean: 진필식(陳弼植) 1 November 19643 November 1966
7Chang Sang-moon Korean: 장상문(張相文) 4 November 196631 October 1967
8Yun Kyong-do Korean: 윤경도(尹慶道) 5 November 19679 January 1972
9Park Chang-namKorean: 박창남(朴昌南) 10 January 197214 February 1974
10Ryee Soo-woo Korean: 이수우(李秀佑) 15 February 197430 August 1977
11Lee Chang-sooKorean: 이창수(李昌洙) 1 September 197720 December 1980
12 Kim Tae-ji Korean: 김태지(金太智) 31 March 198120 May 1984
13Kim Chong-hun Korean: 김정훈(金正勳) 1 June 198418 October 1985
14Kim Jae-chun Korean: 김재춘(金在春) 18 October 198529 October 1987
15Kim E-myung Korean: 김이명(金以銘) 5 November 198730 June 1990
16Chong Min-kil Korean: 정민길(鄭旼吉) 5 July 199030 April 1993
17 Nam Hong-u Korean: 남홍우(南洪祐) 5 May 199315 March 1996
18Park Yang-chun Korean: 박양천(朴楊千) 20 March 199615 April 1998
19Shin Doo-byong Korean: 신두병(申斗柄) 4 May 199831 December 2000
20Kim Kwang-dong Korean: 김광동(金光東) 12 February 200119 January 2002
21Kang Keun-taik Korean: 강근택(姜根鐸) 26 February 20026 September 2004
22Cho Hwan-bok Korean: 조환복(趙煥復) 13 September 20042 March 2007
23Seok Tong-youn Korean: 석동연(石東演) 21 March 20076 March 2010
24Jun Ok-hyunKorean: 전옥현(全玉鉉) 8 March 201016 September 2012
25Cho Yong-chun Korean: 조용천(趙鏞天) 19 September 201225 March 2015
26Kim Kwang-dongKorean: 김광동(金光東) 18 April 201519 September 2017
27Kim Weon-jinKorean: 김원진(金元辰) 10 January 2018

See also

References

22.2802°N 114.164°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ko . ko:업무 및 주소, 연락처 . Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Hong Kong . http://hkg.mofa.go.kr/korean/as/hkg/legation/work/index.jsp . 2016-06-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160628222407/http://hkg.mofa.go.kr/korean/as/hkg/legation/work/index.jsp . 2016-06-28 .
  2. News: zh:韓國文化館歡迎香港市民 . zh-hk . . A22 . Chinese: 徐莉吟 . 2009-08-14 .
  3. News: Ties between Korea, H.K. robust . . 2010-07-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20160628222717/http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100702000738 . 2016-06-28.
  4. News: ko . ko:香港總領事에 車均燦氏任命 . . 1 . 1949-04-08 .
  5. News: ko . ko:香港에領事舘設置 英國政府서同意書翰 . . 1 . 1949-02-10 .
  6. Web site: ko:총영사관약사 . Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Hong Kong . http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/hk-ko/wpge/m_1497/contents.do . 2018-08-11 . https://archive.today/20180811172614/http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/hk-ko/wpge/m_1497/contents.do . 2018-08-11 . ko . live .
  7. News: ko . ko:香港의領事舘 總領事舘으로 . . 1 . 1949-11-19 .
  8. Book: en . Korea Annual 1966 . . 1966 . 304.
  9. Book: en . Korea Annual 1970 . 7th . . 1970 . 433.
  10. Book: en . Korea Annual 1972 . 9th . . 1972 . 435.
  11. Book: Between Ally and Partner: Korea-China Relations and the United States . Chae-ho Chŏng . . 2007 . 9780231139069 . 50.
  12. News: zh:加強與中共貿易 韓決大幅擴充駐香港領事館 . 1985-03-30 . Chinese: 漢城二十九日電 . Economic Daily News . 6 . zh-tw.
  13. News: ko . ko:홍콩반환뒤에도 총영사관 유지 . . 4 . Korean: 尹正國 . 1997-04-16.
  14. Web site: ko:주홍콩총영사관 부임자 안내서 . http://mofaspouse.org/upload/countries/2012060811300823639.pdf. Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Hong Kong . 2016-06-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160630133153/http://mofaspouse.org/upload/countries/2012060811300823639.pdf . 2016-06-30 . 2011 . ko.
  15. News: https://web.archive.org/web/20140823214338/http://www.dongponews.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=25552 . 2014-08-23 . Dongponews.net . Korean: 이나연 . ko:주홍콩총영사관, ‘한국 자료실’ 개설 . http://www.dongponews.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=25552 . 2014-02-26 . ko. 2016-06-30.