Chang Jae-Bok, South Korea’s Ambassador to India, stated on Tuesday that Ayodhya is “very important” for both India and South Korea. He stated that if the central government extends the invitation for the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, South Korea will support high-level participation from the country.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Chang Jae-Bok said, “Ayodhya is very important for both of us historically. The legend about an Indian princess marrying a Korean king 2000 years ago has an Ayodhya connection, as one of our history books has a mention of a princess from Ayuta. I don’t know if Ayuta is Ayodhya but its Ayuta in Korean language. It is generally assumed that Ayuta was Ayodhya or Ayodhya was Ayuta.”
He stated that the national government should publish the contents of the program around the Ram temple’s inauguration in order to secure complete assurances of high-level participation from foreign countries. According to the envoy, South Korea has not received any correspondence or information about the inauguration.
Asked specifically if South Korea was keen on high-level participation in the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the envoy said, “You (India) have a very important inauguration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. But, to have high level representation from foreign countries, the central government or the UP government should elaborate on the (inauguration) programme.
“That’s the way they can guarantee high-level representation in an important event. But, we still don’t know yet. So we neither received any letter nor any letter or information about the (inauguration) programme.”
“Ensuring our participation at the inuguration event will be difficult if it is sceduled closer to the New Year celebrations. So, at the end of year or in the beginning of the new year, our high level government officers and ministers will find it tough to travel overseas. However, this is my sense. However, we can still work on our participation if the government issues an invitation for the Ram Temple inauguration beforehand,” the envoy added.