1. The first meeting of the Joint Cultural Committee between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Austria was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul on December 12, with Director-General for Public Diplomacy and Cultural Affairs LEE Kyung-ah of the ROK Foreign Ministry and Christoph THUN-HOHENSTEIN, Director General for International Cultural Affairs of the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of the ROA, leading their respective delegations.

    ※ Participating organizations from the ROK: The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF), the Korea Foundation (KF) and the Korean Film Council (KOFIC)

    ※ Participating organizations from the ROA: The Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA), the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport (BMKOES), and the Embassy of Austria in Korea

2. The two sides exchanged views on how to promote cooperation in the fields of culture, arts, sports, women, youth and tourism. They also discussed concrete measures to promote cooperation between the two countries in a range of areas, including the cultural creative industry, cultural heritage and the film industry, and signed the agreed minutes which outlined a detailed implementation plan.

3. This was the first Joint Committee meeting held in accordance with the Agreement between the ROK and Austria on Cultural Cooperation* which was signed in June 2021 when the bilateral relationship was upgraded to strategic partnership.

   * The Agreement between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Austria on Cooperation in the Fields of Culture, the Arts, Sports, Women, Youth and Tourism

4. Director-General Lee noted that cooperation between the two countries had deepened significantly in diverse areas as could be seen from various events to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations, in addition to the entry into force of the Agreement on Cultural Cooperation on October 1, 2022 and the approval for the establishment of the Korean Cultural Center in Austria. She also mentioned how meaningful it was to hold the first meeting of the Joint Cultural Committee with Austria, a country with significant soft power. 

5. Director General Thun-Hohenstein noted the more than a century-long history of exchanges between the two countries, and looked forward to the implementation of the cooperation measures proposed at the Joint Cultural Committee meeting.

   ※ June 23, 1892: Diplomatic relationship established between the Joseon Dynasty and the Austro-Hungarian Empire

   ※ May 22, 1963: Diplomatic relationship established between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Austria