Northeast Asia Peace Initiative
Georgians Recall Personal Experiences of Korea
Written by Maka Abugbaia, secretary general, UPF-Georgia
Friday, March 26, 2021
Tbilisi, Georgia—A UPF webinar gave several Georgians the opportunity to explain their affinity for Korea.
The online conference “Korea – Personal Experiences,” which was held on March 26, 2021, had more than 100 participants online and over 3,000 views on the UPF-Georgia Facebook page.
One of the central themes of the webinar was to hear the panelists’ impressions and experiences about Korea.
In her opening remarks, Anastasia Gogiashvili, who works at the South Korean Embassy in Georgia as an attaché for general affairs and official development assistance, greeted the audience and said how honored she feels to be an ethnic Georgian holding Korean citizenship.
She remarked on the similarities of Georgia and Korea in culture and history and said that there are lot of things Georgia can learn from Korea.
Each of the panelists contributed something special based on their experience. A Korean language lecturer at Ilia Chavchavadze State University, Tamta Abuladze, spoke about her way of learning Korean and becoming a Korean lecturer. She gave the audience information on how and where in Georgia they can learn Korean and pass the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) exam.
Tamta Bibilashvili, a student at Hanyang University’s Korean Language Education and Korean Studies department, joined the webinar from Seoul. She recounted her own experience of how she fulfilled her dream and finally had the chance to study in Korea.
Dalila Khorava, a former minister of labor, health and social defense of the Georgian autonomous republic of Abkhazia and the founder of the NGO Georgia for Refugees, described her two visits to Korea as a UPF Ambassador for Peace, where she attended International Leadership Conferences. She remarked on the high level of the participants and theme of the conferences.
Giorgi Melashvili, the president of the Europe-Georgia Institute and a scholar of East Asian studies (specializing in Korea), also talked about his personal experiences in Korea and the similarities of the history of Georgia and Korea. He mentioned that a book he is preparing about the development of Korea will be published soon.
Maka Abugbaia, the secretary general of the Georgian chapter of UPF, thanked the panelists and listeners for joining the webinar. She spoke about her impressions while visiting Korea for the first time in 2008, knowing almost nothing about the country.
Ms. Abugbaia suggested that the audience read the book As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen, the autobiography of UPF co-founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon, which was translated and published in Georgian in 2012. From this book, readers can deeply understand not only the remarkable life of Reverend Moon but also the historical way the Korean nation had to go through.
After the webinar, the UPF-Georgia office received numerous messages from participants, both in Georgia and abroad, who started to be interested in learning more about the Korean culture and language.
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