Italian Ambassador to Korea Emilia Gatto, third from right, Choi Jung-wha, president of the Corea Image Communication Institute, fourth from left, and other attendees of the 17th annual Culture Communication Forum pose at the Italian ambassador’s residence in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
A diplomat sang a love song in Korean. A veteran actor performed Elvis. A Spanish-born broadcaster in hanbok belted out a Korean ballad. Together, they made the case for what the evening's organizers called the twin engines of Korean culture's global rise: the power to create and the power to communicate.
The 17th annual Culture Communication Forum (CCF), organized by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI), was held Thursday evening at the Italian ambassador's residence in Seoul, drawing more than 50 diplomats, business leaders and cultural figures.
Ambassadors from Italy, Belgium, Singapore, Peru and Luxembourg attended, along with Jin Roy Ryu, chairman of Poongsan Group and the Federation of Korean Industries, and Kim Jung-soo, chairman of Samyang Foods.
Italian Ambassador Emilia Gatto set the tone early, delivering her welcome remarks in Korean.
"This is really the house of all Koreans, all Italians and all friends of Korea and Italy," she told guests. She later closed the evening's "Hidden Talent Challenge" with a performance of Jimmy Fontana's 1965 classic "Il Mondo," sung with Korean lyrics and punctuated by a piano interlude of the Korean folk song "Arirang."
Three other performers preceded her. Architect Hong Tae-sun opened with Chopin's Etude Op. 25 No. 1., followed by actor Park Joong-hoon with Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love." Park explained beforehand that he finds every language beautiful, "and Italian in particular sounds like singing."
Fabio Gonzalez Prieto, a Spanish-born TV personality, closed the segment with Lee Sun-hee's "Fate," quipping that most of his musical education had taken place "in the Korean karaoke."
Choi Jung-wha, president of the Corea Image Communication Institute, delivers an opening speech during the 2026 Culture Communication Forum at the Italian ambassador’s residence in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
The forum's second half featured a competition examining the future of Korean heritage and the competitiveness of K-content in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), with attendees voting in real time via mobile QR code.
Source: Korea Times News
