Why Today, March 1st, is a National Holiday in Korea

Independence Movement Day falls on March 1st. On this day Koreans remember people who rose up to protest the Japanese rule over Korea. Japan won the wars against China in 1895, and against Russia in 1905. Then Japan threatened the Korean government and made Korea a part of Japan illegally with powerful force. In 1910 Korea lost all of its rights as an independent country and Japanese rule over Korea started officially.

On March 1st, 1919, Koreans rose up all together to protest the Japanese rule and declared Korea as an independent country. In Seoul 33 national representatives read the independence declaration a famous writer prepared. In Cheonan, Gyeonggido, Yu Gwan Sun led the independence movement there, and she died in the prison.

Kenya’s New Ambassador Hits the Road Running: Visits Daegu and Busan

Amb. Gello with Kenyan students at Kyungpook National University, Daegu

The Ambassador meeting with KCK Busan representatives in Busan.

DAEGU February 24: His Excellency Ambassador Mohamed Gello visited Kyungpook National University and met two Kenyan graduate students, Diana Rop and Regina Home (both members of KCK Daegu Branch). He was welcomed by the office of the university’s president.

The new ambassador emphasized on the importance of enhancing the relationship between Kenyan and Korea specifically in terms of educational institutions. He mentioned that East Africa is the fastest growing region in Africa economically, and Kenya is at the heart of this growth as a big ICT hub and a home to investors, worldwide. Korea and Kenya has a lot of ties, being favored by Korean Air that directly flies to only one City in Africa, Nairobi.

He also thanked the University’s president for giving the Kenyan students an opportunity to further their studies in the prestigious Kyungpook National University,

Kenyans in Korea Welcome New Ambassador

Kenya Community in Korea (KCK) officially welcomed their new ambassador, H.E. Mohamed Gello, on February 20th, 2015. In his first address to Kenyans in Korea, Amb. Gello commended KCK for being organized and focused. He reiterated the importance of unity and progress.

The new envoy who recently arrived in Seoul from UAE also encouraged Kenyans to change stereotypes that many people have about Africa, influence reforms, and pursue knowledge transfer for the benefit of their motherland. He emphasized that Kenyans are the most effective ambassadors for they are many and their influence is widespread.

On Diaspora Affairs, Amb. Gello was happy to note that the Kenyan government has recognized Diaspora community as an important socio-economic pillar. It was noted that remittances from Kenyans in Diaspora have steadily grown in the recent past. According to the Central Bank of Kenya, remittance inflows to Kenya increased by USD 137 million or (11 percent) in 2014, to USD 1,428.5 million compared with USD 1,290.6 million in 2013. The new envoy who was accompanied by

KCK Newsletter: Our Outstanding Envoy!

KCK’s Jambo Kenya Korea is hereby published online. The publication featured our outgoing Ambassador, Ngovi Kitau, his life, and achievements as Kenya’s diplomat to the Republic of Korea.

We celebrate him and wish him well in his future endeavors. We also welcome the new Ambassador and his team. Read on…

Read the newsletter here: Jambo Kenya Korea Special Edition 2014

Please send your comments and articles to:  kenyakorea@gmail.com

Big thanks to our committed Editors: Christine Kathurima, Cheryl Wanderi and Benson Kamary.

KCK KEN-KOR Awards 2014

 KCK Awards 2014 Committee now welcomes nominations for vetting:

CATEGORIES
a. KCK Educational Excellence (Usomi Award)
b. KCK Social Responsibility (Kujitolea Award)
c. KCK Friendship (Urafiki Award) Non-Kenyan
g. KCK Concord Award (Umoja Award) Regional Award (Seoul, Cheonan, Busan, Gwangju, Daegu/Ulsan)
h. KCK Patriotism (Uzalendo Award)
i. The Ambassador’s Award (Simba Award)

CRITERION FOR VETTING
– The people to be considered will be KCK members all over the world.
– Persons in Korea associated with Kenya e.g. Kenya Embassy officials.
– Friends of Kenya in Korea e.g. Koreans, Americans, Ethiopians, dual citizens etc.
– Kenyans who have visited Korea even briefly but have impacted on Kenyans in Korea.
– The persons to be awarded must have had positive impact on KCK, its membership, and Kenya as a whole. – The act/action/gesture/project could be social/economic/philanthropic/ educational/ achievement/ award/ etc.
– The person must have not had any criminal/corruption history/complaints against them.
– They must be persons of high integrity.

PRESENTATION OF AWARDS
– AGM September. 27th during the AGM
– Certificates and maybe a medal or returnable trophies

HOW TO NOMINATE
– Please nominate the awardees on Kenya Community Facebook Event Page OR
– Send email to: ntonjapat@yahoo.com or kwemoi@gmail.com or jullietokoth@yahoo.com

NB: Write the name of the person and the award nominated for (Mkenya Halisi – Uzalendo Award).

DEADLINE: Sunday September 21st

AFRICA RISING : A Survey of Korea-Africa Bilateral Interactions

(Paper presented at the Open Lecture, Busan Foundation of International Activities (BFIA))

By B.K. Kamary

The narrative of “Africa rising” vis-à-vis the West’s (Europe and USA) involvement in Africa and the recent ‘aggressive’ entry of the People’s Republic of China to the continent has elicited both tribute and controversies. The West-China politico-economic ties with Africa continue to impact Africa in diverse ways.

Africa’s relationship with developed nations has often been laced with overbearing political influence and related economic interests as ‘superpower’ nations seek to maintain or earn prominent voice on global matters. In spite of cravings for Africa’s resources and reconnaissance for new markets by the so called development partners, Africa has been making

KCK Newsletter is Back! Read online here…

After a shot hiatus, KCK’s quarterly newsletter, Jambo Kenya Korea, is back!

Read the newsletter here Jambo Kenya Korea Spring 2014

KCK wishes to thank the Communication Committee and all who contributed to the success of bringing this publication back to readers. Your continued support is highly appreciated.

We call upon anyone who wishes to be part of this newsletter (as a writer, photographer, layout designer, columnist humorist etc) to contact kenyakorea@gmail.com .

Meanwhile articles for the Summer Edition 2014 will be received as from June 1^st, 2014.

Enjoy the reading…