Chung-in Moon, special advisor to the South Korean president for unification and national security affairs, visited Cairo recently where he gave a lecture at the Tahrir Dialogue series at the American University in Cairo on Tuesday, said Yeocheol Yoon, ambassador of South Korea to Egypt. The lecture of the president's special advisor which was entitled "From Crisis to Peace-making in Korea – president MOON Jae-In's Peace Initiative", was held in the presence of the Korean ambassador and Nabil Fahmy, Dean of the School for Global Affairs and Public Policy. Chung-in also dined with the members of the Korean embassy on Monday where the participants had a debate on regional issues as well as the situation on the Korean peninsula. Earlier in January, the Korean ambassador had a meeting with Fahmy, along with Minister-Counselor at the embassy, Jang Hyunchul, where they had discussions ranging from global affairs to their respective regions and bilateral relations. "I was deeply impressed by the width of his perspective and his straightforwardness in presenting it with perfect wording. And I learned so much from him," mentioned the ambassador following the meeting. Additionally, Yoon informed Daily News Egypt that Koreans are now coming back to Egypt to enjoy what Egypt has to offer to Korean tourists, including culture and civilisation, as well as nature and leisure. The ambassador noted that the chartered flights are a manifestation of their renewed interest in Egypt, adding that the flights are part of travel packages to see the various corners of Egypt. "I hope that there will be more and more Korean tourists coming to Egypt, with the spread of Egypt's good reputation, through word of mouth, of the charm of the Egyptian experience," mentioned the ambassador. When there are enough Korean passengers, Korean Air will be able to resume its direct flights to Egypt, which was canceled in 2014," said the ambassador, noting, "at the same time, EgyptAir should also consider extending their flights to Beijing, China or Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, Korea, to benefit from the new increase of interest among Koreans to visit Egypt. "I think the number of Korean tourists last year should range from 20,000, to 30,000 with a steep increase. However, I don't have exact figures yet," said the ambassador. Korean Air will operate six charter flights over January and February 2019 in a step that will encourage the South Korean flag carrier to resume its regular direct flights to Cairo International Airport (CAI) in the near future, according to a past statement of the CAI in January 2019.
