Suwon Mayor Lee Jae-joon met with French Ambassador to Korea Philippe Bertoux to discuss cooperation measures . Ambassador Philippe Bertoux visited Suwon City Hall on the 16th and paid a courtesy call on Mayor Lee Jae-joon .
Mayor Lee Jae-jun “There is a monument commemorating the French participation in the Korean War in Suwon , and Ajou University in Suwon was established in 1973 through an agreement between Korea and France.” “Suwon and France have a deep connection,” he explained .
mudfish “ 2026 marks the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France , and if there is a commemorative project that Suwon City can participate in, we will actively cooperate,” he said .
Ambassador Philippe Berthoud “I would like to thank Mayor Lee Jae-jun for expressing his intention to cooperate.” “I hope that the governments and major cities of both countries will promote commemorative projects in various fields, including culture and arts , economy , and people-to-people exchanges, to mark the 140th anniversary of Korea-France diplomatic relations,” he said .
Mayor Lee Jae-jun and Ambassador Berthoud agreed to cooperate in the maintenance of the French War Memorial and the advancement of the Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival into a global festival .
Before the conversation, Mayor Lee Jae-jun guided Ambassador Bertu around the Saebit Civil Service Center and the Integrated Civil Service Center .
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[Korean Today] Suwon Mayor Lee Jae-joon meets with French Ambassador to Korea Philippe Berthoud ©Reporter Yang Sook-hee |
Five months after the outbreak of the Korean War, on November 28 , 1950 , the French Battalion of the UN forces landed in Busan and gathered in Suwon, where they were assigned to the 2nd US Division and participated in the battle . Of the 3,421 French soldiers, 288 ( including 18 Korean soldiers assigned to the French Army ) were killed . The French War Memorial was erected by the Ministry of National Defense in 1974 and acquired by Suwon City .
Suwon City signed a sister city agreement with Tours, a representative tourist city in France, in May 2023 and is continuing exchanges .
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