Korea Friendship Express Caravan will visit Riyadh Oct. 17-18. It was launched by the Korea-Arab Society (KAS) in 2008 with governments, businesses and NGOs from both Korea and 22 Arab countries including the Kingdom. The KAS aims to promote friendship through cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two worlds, which constitute the backbone of bilateral relations. This year's caravan from Korea travels through eight countries in the Arab region (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, Lebanon, Qatar and Syria). It will provide a valuable opportunity to the Arab World to experience Korea by featuring various cultural events and economic programs. For instance, the Kingdom will witness the Taekwondo (Korean traditional martial art) demonstration as part of the cultural event on Oct. 17. Furthermore, businesses of the Kingdom will hold one-on-one meetings with members of the Korean trade delegation as part of the economic program. Dr. II Sa-kong, President of the Korea-Arab Society and Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), will lead the caravan with 59 delegates. The Taekwondo demonstration led by the 16 black-belt experts from Kukkiwon, the World Taekwondo headquarters in Korea, will be held at the Green Hall of the Olympic Complex, Riyadh. Taekwondo is a unique Korean martial art with a long tradition; it was founded more than 2,000 years ago. Recently, it has become a popular sport worldwide, especially after it was officially designated as an Olympic sport at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Taekwondo masters practice the philosophy of “behaviorism,” the development of strength, sharp perception, confidence, and sense of virtue. Saudi Arabia is Korea's fourth largest trading partner. The bilateral trade volume between the two countries has leaped from $4.2 billion in 1991 to $39 billion in 2008 with $28.5 billion of the trade balance in favor of Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom is also Korea's largest oil supplier, making up one third of Korea's total oil import. Korean exports to the Kingdom in 2008 reached $5.2 billion, mainly consisting of automobiles, ships, iron & steel products, electronics and machinery products.
