Speech by CE at opening ceremony of Hong Kong Week 2025@Seoul (English only) (with video)
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Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening everybody. Annyeonghaseyo (Korean: Hello)!
It is a great pleasure to welcome you all, to the opening ceremony of Hong Kong Week 2025@Seoul. Since 2019, Hong Kong Week has been a flagship festival organised by the HKSAR (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) Government, bringing the vibrancy of Hong Kong's arts and culture to international audiences. Having previously staged in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Bangkok, we are glad to now enter the festival's fifth edition, here in Seoul.
For good reasons. Seoul, a dynamic city that celebrates both history and modernity, is committed to fostering innovation, economic development and cultural exchange.
Hong Kong is an international financial, shipping and trade centre. We are also fast developing as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange and an international innovation and technology hub. Our deep connectivity with Korea spans across business, investment, technology and culture, and creates immense opportunities for collaboration and mutual growth.
Hong Kong and Korea, I'm pleased to say, have flourished through our competence, and proficiency, in embracing heritage while driving the transformative capability of different arts forms.
Korea's rich cultural landscape, mesmerising traditional mask dance performances, musical storytelling, as well as its globally popular K-Pop and K-dramas, reflect our appreciation for both tradition and creativity, in breadth and in depth.
Similarly, Hong Kong's arts scene seamlessly blends classical and contemporary influences, establishing a unique identity that resonates with the aspirations of the international stage. These shared values render Hong Kong and Seoul natural partners in artistic collaboration, cultural exchange and creative dialogue.
A city of remarkable cultural richness, Seoul provides an outstanding setting for our Hong Kong Week this year.
This year's Hong Kong Week features an eclectic array of programmes, from Chinese and Western music, and traditional and contemporary dance, to new and restored Hong Kong films, and thought-provoking exhibitions. With performances staged by flagship arts groups as well as emerging young talents, this festival transcends an artistic showcase, and it will bring every participant on a fulfilling arts and cultural journey, filled with fascinating Hong Kong and Korean elements. An integration of our two vibrant cities.
Ladies and gentlemen, our Hong Kong Week will continue to shine on the global stage by deepening collaborations, building new partnerships, inspiring new creations and solidifying connections.
We will continue to foster our friendly relations with Seoul and Korea, not only in the area of arts and culture, but also in business, technology, finance, and more. I warmly invite your exploration of all that Hong Kong offers, through visiting our city, through investments, or through the many opportunities of professional and cultural exchanges we provide.
My sincere gratitude goes to our dedicated partners, especially the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea, for the tremendous support for making Hong Kong Week 2025@Seoul a huge success.
I wish everyone an enjoyable evening! Thank you. Gamsahamnida (Korean: Thank you).
Ends/Friday, September 26, 2025
Issued at HKT 19:00
Issued at HKT 19:00
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Audio / Video
Speech by CE at opening ceremony of Hong Kong Week 2025@Seoul