The Park of Contemporary Sculpture at St Petersburg State University is going to unveil a statue honouring the prominent South Korean novelist Pak Kyong-ni. This was announced by Mr Hur Seung Chul, Professor at Korea University and the executive secretary of the Russia — Republic of Korea Dialogue Forum on the Korean side.

St Petersburg just hosted the conference on Deep Conversion of Raw Hydrocarbons, held as part of the Civil Societies Forum “Russia – Republic of Korea Dialogue” (RRKD), the coordination board of which on the Russian side is headed by Rector of SPbU Nikolai Kropachev. The guests of the event included the Deputy CEO Gazprom Valery Golubev, the Senior Executive Vice President and Standing Director of Korea Gas Corporation Ahn Wan Gi, the Consul General of the Republic of Korea in St Petersburg Lee Jin Hyun, the Energy Attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea Lee Jun Kwang, the Economic Minister Attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea Kang Daesoo, and other experts in the field of energy production from the two countries.

Mr Hur Seung Chul — the executive secretary of the Russia — Republic of Korea Dialogue Forum on the Korean side — said that the new government of the Republic of Korea headed by President Moon Jae-in sees cooperation with Russian in energy production as one of its most important tasks. In his view, cooperation in this field is not only a strong impetus for a dynamic development of economic relations between the two counties but also an effective means for the development of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea  towards openness and reforms.

“I express my profound gratitude to all executive-board members of PAO Gazprom and to the Rector of SPbU Mr Nikolai Kropachev as well as the RRKD secretariats on the Russian and Korean sides, for the preparation of and participation in today’s event,” said Prof. Hur Seung Chul.

Prof. Hur Seung Chul invited all the colleagues present to come to the unveiling of the statue honouring the prominent South Korean writer Pak Kyong. The statue is to be unveiled before the end of 2017 at the Open Air Park of Contemporary Sculpture at St Petersburg State University. The sculpture will contain two elements: the bronze figure of the novelist will be standing on a large marble book ¾ the symbol of creativity, which helped Pak Kyong-ni firmly stand on her own feet even during the most difficult moments of her life.

Today the South Korean writer is well known not only at home but all over the world. She left behind a rich literary heritage: more than 20 novels and short novels, as well as three books of poems. She started her literary career in 1955, with the novel Calculation, but her most famous work is the epic novel The Land, written from 1969 to 1994. The writer’s works speak about the fragility of life and show the importance of love and trust in every person’s life.

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The Russia - Republic of Korea Dialogue Forum was established in 2010, as a joint initiative of the presidents of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea. The Forum serves as a platform where representatives of the political and cultural elites as well as the wider business community and representatives of the civil society can coordinate and reconcile their interests.

St Petersburg State University, from the very start, supported the initiative to establish the Forum and has all this time provided organizational support and expert services. The leading experts from SPbU head or participate as members of the Forum’s work groups, and the Rector of SPbU Nikolai Kropachev heads the coordination board of the Forum on the Russian side.