King Charles welcomes President Yoon with state banquet

“To me, fair friend, the United Kingdom, you never can be old.”

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, currently on a state visit to Britain, made a toast during a state banquet held at Buckingham Palace quoting Shakespeare's Sonnet 104 in response to King Charles III’s recitation of a phrase from "The Wind Blows" by poet Yun Dong-ju translated in English.

President Yoon said in a banquet speech that South Korea and Britain have an alliance by blood to safeguard freedom, adding that 81,000 British troops traveled a long distance to contribute to freedom on South Korean soil at a time when the fate of the nation was a few steps away from the cliff due to the communist invaders back in 1950.

“When young, I was an avid fan of the Beatles, Queen and Elton John. So were my friends,” the president said. “Harry Potter is well-received by South Korean readers today. Likewise, South Korea’s BTS and BLACK PINK are beloved by British fans.

King Charles III warmly welcomed the visiting president partly in Korean during his speech, adding more heat to the banquet. “Korea’s preservation of its sense of self, amid bewildering change, was perhaps what the poet Yun Dong-ju, who tragically died in captivity on the very eve of Korea’s liberation, anticipated when he wrote: While the wind keeps blowing, My feet stand upon a rock. While the river keeps flowing, My feet stand upon a hill,” King Charles said.


dapaper@donga.com