It’s every ambassador’s dream to have young and active local supporters who he or she can partner with while working in the country he or she is assigned to. The local supporters not only ease the job of promoting bilateral friendship, but they themselves are proof that efforts to build long, lasting relationships are coming to fruition.

In April this year, the Embassy of Korea, in partnership with the Korean Culture Students Club of Ilia State University, organized an outreach trip to provincial parts of Georgia. Ambassadors do outreach trips to build network and promote friendly ties with regions outside of capital city. But this time, as I prepared for the trip, there was a sense of mission riding on it, for it wasn’t just me who was visiting, but traveling with me were 26 Georgian college students. From 27~29 April, for three days we, altogether a group of 30, traveled caravan style to the cities of Kutaisi, Batumi, and Akhaltsikhe.

Our first stop, Kutaisi, the “Father City” of Georgia spanning 3,500 years of history, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Upon arrival at Akaki Tsereteli State University of Kutaisi, I met with the Rector of the University and explained to him what we were up to. I would give a special lecture on Korea-Georgia Future Partnership through K-Initiative, and the Ilia State University students would act out a short play in Korean language, sing K-Pop song and perform K-Pop dance for the audience.

In my lecture, I expressed that K-initiative is Korea’s efforts to spread culture and build partnership with the world while utilizing “Korea” as a national brand itself. Also, I explained that as part of our initiative in Georgia, the Embassy and the Tbilisi Office of KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency), while partnering with PSP of Georgia, are planning to hold “K-Beauty Week” in Tbilisi in coming July by opening a Pop-Up store and holding expert workshops in Korean cosmetics. Moreover, after introducing Korea as a high-tech, manufacturing economy that blossomed out of ashes of the Korean War in the early 1950s, I identified various areas of potential future partnership with Georgia, including ICT, infrastructure, and logistics/connectivity sectors.

Following the lecture, the Ilia State students took over the stage and showcased their acts before the packed audience. Thinking back, I still can’t get over how they were able to display a short play in Korean, and sing and dance like K-Pop idol group on world tour. Instead of me trying to lecture about the spread of Korean culture in the world, the Georgian youngsters brought to Kutaisi what they loved about Korean culture through their stellar performances. Having them as supporters made a world of difference, because the Georgian youngsters could communicate to their peers more directly.

In our following stops to Shota Rustaveli State University in Batumi and Samtskhe-Javakheti State University in Akhaltsikhe, we were greeted with similar success in drawing 200~300 audiences, who remained after the event ended to take photos and ask questions about potential partnership between our two countries. I said while Korea’s strength lies in high-tech manufacturing, Georgia’s strength is in logistics and service areas, so the complementary strengths should be explored to seek where these areas overlap. As for the potential of Georgia I said, apart from its strategic location to serve as a corridor linking the East and West, Georgia can utilize its cultural assets and natural beauty to market “Georgia” as a brand itself. I emphasized that, like Korea, Georgia can package its national culture as a brand to elevate marketability of its products while attracting tourists from abroad.

Georgia maintains a leading position in the World Bank’s business ready index 2025, ranking 4^th among 101 countries, sharing that position with Korea, Singapore, and Estonia. Also, its GDP in 2025 reached 7.5% while the world remained at about 3.2%. But most of all, I believe Georgia’s real strength lies not in these figures but in its people. The more I experience Georgia, its vibrant young generation who are genuine in their love and pride for their country, the more I am excited about its future.

The feeling I had before the tour, the sense of setting out on a mission, was the weight of responsibility and hope I had in partnering with Georgian youngsters toward a common goal—deepening friendship and ties between Korea and Georgia. The mission of touring the cities is accomplished, but I am humbled by the experience. I am humbled that we’ve just begun our road toward our common goal, and I am humbled at the genuineness and the energy of my 26 young Georgian partners. Indeed, our trip together was a road less traveled by, and I am confident that in the end, such partnership will make all the difference!

By Amb. Hyon Du Kim, Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Tbilisi