Berry College celebrated its relationship with South Korea today by hosting a reception for the country’s consul general, Hae-Jin Chun.

Chun, who has visited the campus several times before, said during his remarks that he’d previously seen the “immense beauty of the Berry College campus” and appreciated being back again.

He expressed his deep respect for Berry trustee Sunny K. Park for “promoting relationships not only between Berry College and Korea, but also the United States.”

“(We hope) there are more opportunities to strengthen ties between Korea and students of Berry College in the future,” Chun said.

“I also believe that Mr. Park and others are trying to lay a foundation between America’s young generation and Korea’s young generation,” he said.

Park hosted the reception with the help of the Korean Association of Rome, the Berry College Office of Advancement and the Berry College Office of International Programs. He has also helped fund student scholarships to attend Seoul Women’s University.

Park said he was proud that the Bahrom International Program at Seoul Women’s University has expanded since he first began providing scholarships to students in 2003 for a summer immersion program.

“Everything is about the students,” Park said. “Any way we can help our students expand their vision and plans for life we’ll be there to help.”

Berry President Stephen Briggs said during remarks before lunch that he hoped Chun would not only continue to promote a strong relationship between the college and the Republic of Korea, but also that he was eager to help promote Korean businesses to look at Rome for opportunities.

“We’re eager as a community to invest back and forth between our two countries,” Briggs said. “We hope you can take this opportunity to be our advocate and tell people what a wonderful community and quality of life we have here in Rome.”