India's Gift to South Korea
On March 19th, the Asia Society Korea Center was delighted to take a part at a national ceremony in which India gifted a sapling of the revered Bodhi Tree to South Korea as a powerful symbol of the friendship between the two countries. Yvonne Kim, the Korea Center’s Executive Director, attended the event at the Korea National Arboretum.
The sapling of the holy Bodhi Tree was carried from Bodh Gaya town in India by representatives of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Korea Forest Service earlier this month and arrived in Korea on March 7th. During the presentation ceremony, H.E. Anil Wadhwa, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, delivered a congratulatory message from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
This gift is a special gesture following a visit to India by South Korean President Park Geun-hye in January this year, in which the two countries pledged friendship and goodwill to each other. Indian Ambassador in Seoul H.E. Vishnu Prakash, H.E. Shin Won-Sop, Minister of the Korea Forest Service and H.E. Yun Byung-se, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, were also present at the ceremony.