HE Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi builds partnerships with key public broadcasters of Korea

Seoul-South Korea-Sharjah Media Centre: May 29, 2013 

Sharjah Media Centre, the media and communications arm of the Government of Sharjah, visited the Korean Broadcasting System's headquarters and the Arirang Network based in Seoul, South Korea, during its participation at the third UAE-Korea Economic Partnership Forum 2013, held in Seoul.

During the visit to KBS World and worldwide television network Arirang, His Excellency Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Centre, and Osama Samra, Director of Sharjah Media Centre, met with Lee Jeong-Ok, Managing Director of the Global Strategy Center KBS; Kim Kyung-Hee, Executive Director of International Relations KBS, Kim Hyuk-dong, Executive Producer at KBS World. 


At Arirang HE and Osama Samra hold the meeting with Richard WP. Shim, Executive President of TV and Radio Arirang; Leo Park, Senior Manager Distribution and Marketing Arirang; Lee Chang Bae, Senior Manager Distribution and Marketing Arirang and Byeon Yeoung Kyoon, TV Programming Department/ Producer Arirang.

Lee Jeong-Ok from KBS praised Sharjah: "Sharjah is in Korea well-known and appreciated for its culture, this is reflected through Sharjah's people, which we see in common to our own country. I am very keen on exploring Sharjah's culture personally."

Richard WP. Shim said: 'Currently, we're accessible in 15 million households in the Arab region and we continuously look into opportunities to introduce the Korean culture further to Arab countries. We would be more than happy if we can exchange news content in English and Arabic between both countries.'

Lee Jeong-Ok and Richard WP. Shim also stressed on the importance of preserving such a momentum and to expand it into a long-lasting friendship and mutual cooperation between KBS and Sharjah. Lee Jeong-Ok said: " KBS has correspondents in the UAE, and now we will ensure that they allocate special focus on the emirate Sharjah."

HE Al Qassimi pointed in both meetings out, that with more than 40 per cent of the UAE's manufacturing sector based in Sharjah, any new economic initiatives and partnerships with powerful new economic players like South Korea will help the emirate-based companies and investors. He also informed the executives about Sharjah's 3,000 annual activities, and encouraged KBS to attend the Sharjah Capital Of Islamic Culture 2014 Celebrations.

Collaborating on further initiatives, Lee Jeong-Ok (KBS) and Richard WP. Shim (Arirang) mentioned the Global News Forum, which will be hosted by KBS in association with the Asian Pacific Broadcasting Union News Group (ABU) in Seoul. KBS and Arirang extended both an invitation to HE Al Qassimi, Osama Samra and Sharjah Media Centre to attend the Forum as their honored guests on September 5, 2013.

The Forum is an international meeting point for the region's newsroom decision makers to examine issues regarding the digital media's evolution and the changing role of journalism. It welcomes global and regional broadcasters, in addition to key media organizations such as BBC World, Arirang Network (Korean Network) and Al Jazeera.

With the introduction of the International Government Communication Forum (IGCF) as an initiative with international resonance and that attracts worldwide attention, hosting in 2013's edition renowned personalities like Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey and Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations as its Guests of Honor, His Excellency Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi extended an invitation to both networks management to attend the 3rd edition of the IGCF to be held in 2014.

The Managing Director of the Global Strategy Center KBS Lee Jeong-Ok and the Executive Vice-President of TV and Radio Arirang Richard WP. Shim thanked HE Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi for visiting their offices, and HE expressed his delight for the visit, which will further strengthen the economic, cultural and media exchange between the two nations.

Both visits concluded with an interview, at KBS with the Arabic radio channel 'KBS World Radio - Beyond Radio', that KBS hosts as part of its repertoire and which airs to 22 countries of the Arab region. At Arirang the interview will be broadcast two times through the morning showon Friday titled 'Korea Today' to 190 countries (7/8 am and at 11am). During the interviews His Excellency introduced the United Arab Emirates and in particular Sharjah and possibilities of mutual collaboration.

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© Press Release 2013