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President Roh Moo-hyun and former Japanese prime minister Yoshiro Mori presided over the Korean opening ceremony for the Korea-Japan Friendship Year 2005, held Thursday at the Lotte Hotel's Crystal Ballroom in Seoul to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of normalization of diplomatic ties. The opening ceremony follows a reception in Japan on Tuesday.
The ceremony kicked off with a speech by Shuzen Tanigawa, Japan's senior vice foreign minister, followed by Korean and Japanese singers Ryu and Yuki Guramoto singing the theme song from the inescapable ˇ°Winter Sonataˇ± and addresses by President Roh and former Japanese prime minister Yoshiro Mori.
Top governmental officers at the ceremony included Health and Welfare minister Kim Geun-tae, Minister of Culture and Tourism Chung Dong-chae, Han Myung-sook and Park Jong-geun from the Korean-Japanese Lawmakers Association, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Choi Young-jin, head of the Cultural Properties Administration Yoo Hong-jun, and Commissioner of Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs Hayao Kawai.
The festivities continue with a concert on Friday night at the Olympic Park featuring acts like Park Jung-hyun, Park Hyo-shin, Chemistry, and D.A. Pumps.
The South Korea-Japan Friendship Year was planned in June 2003, when President Roh met with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Tokyo. The two countries have agreed on some 40 exchange and cooperation projects in the fields of culture, arts and sports throughout the year.
(Shin Hyung-joon, hjshin@chosun.com )
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