Strengthening of cultural ties and collaborations between Singapore, ASEAN and Korea

Mr Chairman, 

Minister Yoo Jinryong, 

Ministers, Excellencies and distinguished delegates, 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Good morning. 

1. Allow me, as Chair of the ASEAN Ministers Responsible for the Arts and Culture, and on behalf of the Singapore delegation to thank our Korean hosts for organising this inaugural meeting of Korean and Southeast Asian Culture Ministers. We thank you once again for your warm hospitality and excellent arrangements. 
   

Strong ASEAN-Korea Relations

2. ASEAN and Korea have been important partners for many years, particularly in our economic and people-to-people exchanges. In our next phase of development, it is timely to strengthen our cultural ties. Over the last decade, the Korean cultural wave has swept the world, including in Southeast Asia. Korean movies and music are now staples of our cultural diets.

3. Interest in Southeast Asian cultures has also been growing in Korea. In recent years, works by Southeast Asian artists, featuring the colour and diversity of our region, have been exhibited in Seoul and other Korean cities. Earlier this year, I attended the opening of a Singapore Peranakan exhibition at the National Museum of Korea. I was happy to see that the show received a good response from the Korean public. 
   

Cultural Exchanges between Singapore, ASEAN and Korea

4. This two-way flow of culture is important to building shared understanding and appreciation amongst our people. We live in a diverse region, comprising countries with different languages, histories and cultural traditions. In an age of globalisation, some values, identity and traditions are also coming under siege. But we have in Asia a growing sense of integration, common direction for the future, long history of shared values and culture. Through our cultural exchanges, we can foster a deeper sense of belonging, and draw closer as a community.

5. Singapore believes in the value of such cultures exchanges. This is why we encourage our arts groups to exhibit in other countries to grow deeper ties there. This June, for example, we were proud to send a traditional music group to perform at the ASEAN Cultural Heritage festival in Hoi An, Vietnam.

6. We also bring in arts groups and exhibitions to Singapore. For example, we have had a series of ASEAN country-themed festivals in Singapore, showcasing the cultures of our neighbours and through these, Singaporeans have a greater appreciation of the cultural richness in our Southeast Asian region.

7. Likewise, we have strong cultural ties with Korea. We held an ASEAN-Korea Culture Festival in Singapore in 2009, and various Korean performing arts groups have been participating in our Singapore Art Festival.

8. So this meeting is a timely occasion for us to discuss ways to reinforce the bonds between Singapore, ASEAN and Korea in the cultural area. In this regard, Singapore supports the programmes put forth to encourage cultural exchange, such as the Asian Traditional Performance we saw last night.

9. The ACC, with its state of the art facilities, will be an excellent venue to showcase Asia's rich cultural heritage. In particular, through the ACC, we can share best practices, commission more joint productions, and facilitate more creative exchanges between our art practitioners and youths. 

Singapore's Commitment to Cultural Heritage 

10. For our part, Singapore remains committed to the promotion and preservation of cultural heritage. As a migrant country with citizens from different cultural backgrounds, we have always understood the importance of celebrating cultural diversity so that we retain our multicultural roots and identity.

11. In recent years, we have stepped up efforts to preserve our national monuments, and conserve our historic buildings. Last year, Singapore accepted the UNESCO World Heritage Convention as recognition of the importance of preserving our heritage, and to support the international community's efforts at safeguarding our world heritage.

12. As part of this effort, we will be putting up our Singapore Botanic Gardens as our candidate for our first UNESCO World Heritage Site so that Singaporeans and people from all over the region and the world can better understand and appreciate the rich cultural and natural heritage that lies within this beautiful garden. 
    

Conclusion

13. Excellencies, cultural matters may not always be immediate areas of priority, especially when there are more pressing bread and butter issues to deal with. I've just visited European countries and my counterparts have been lamenting about their budgets being cut, especially in this time of economic crisis. But culture cannot be neglected – it is about the expression of the human spirit. And it is a vital long-term pillar of development in all our countries. I believe our efforts in cultural development are mutually complementary and reinforcing. There is much to gain by cooperating and learning from one another. This will also help to instil a deeper sense of shared culture and identity in the region.

14. On this note, I hope that our discussions here today will be the start of more cultural exchanges and cooperation, so that we can improve our understanding of one another's cultural heritage, and strengthen the sense of shared Asian values and identity as members of one Asian community.