Actress Chung Ae-rie appointed ambassador for International Yoga Day in Korea

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Actress Chung Ae-rie appointed ambassador for International Yoga Day in Korea

Published: 06 Jun. 2023, 18:47

From right, President of the Korean Yoga Association Yoon Woo-geun and Indian Ambassador to Korea Amit Kumar, appoint actress Chung Ae-rie, center, and pop columnist Kim Tae-hoon, second from left, as honorary ambassadors to promote celebrations in Korea for the International Day of Yoga, at the Indian Embassy in Seoul on Monday. The celebrations held through this month are supported by organizations such as Nabi Joy, whose CEO Joy Kim stands far left. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Actress Chung Ae-rie was appointed Monday as an honorary ambassador for the celebration of International Yoga Day in Korea by the Indian Embassy in Seoul and the Korean Yoga Association.

“I fell in love with yoga when it sustained me and helped me recover when I had to cope with an illness seven years ago,” Chung told the press at the Swami Vivekananda Culture Center of the embassy in Seoul on Monday. “Yoga is not just a physical activity, but something that requires an active application of the mind. It is something that we all need today, especially when there seems to be an endless list of tasks vying for our immediate attention.”

The International Day of Yoga, established by the United Nations in 2014, is celebrated every year on June 21. Cities around the world usually host large-scale outdoor yoga sessions for hundreds, if not thousands, to practice yoga together.

“On the 17th of June, we will gather in the Olympic Peace Park in Seoul, where the serene and tranquil environment provides an ideal setting for us to practice yoga and meditation,” said Amit Kumar, ambassador of India to Korea, addressing the audience at the culture center on Monday.

Several outdoor yoga sessions are planned, starting from Hwaeom Temple in Gurye County, South Jeolla, on Saturday; Olympic Park’s Peace Plaza in Seoul on June 17; Pacific Resom resort on Jeju Island on June 21; Gwangalli Beach in Busan on June 23; and the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju on June 24.

There may be as many as 2,000 Seoulites practicing yoga together on June 17, said Yoon Woo-geun, president of the Korean Yoga Association.

“We are glad to host an activity that will strengthen the relationship between Korea and India,” Yoon said. “It is actually a very timely event, where India’s place amid the changing geopolitics is becoming more important.”

Pop columnist Kim Tae-hoon, who was also appointed on Monday as an ambassador for the occasion, said that while yoga is an activity of Indian heritage, the spirit and ideas it embodies have been transformational across nations.

“When The Beatles visited India in the 1960s, they did so to gain inspiration from the message of peace and meditation in the country,” Kim said. “Even ideas like minimalism have their roots in yoga. So it is an honor to represent all things yoga this year as an ambassador and I hope to able to meditate on it more, even as I write and speak about it.”

Kim also conveyed his condolences for the railway accident in India on Friday that killed more than 300.

The festival on the International Day of Yoga hosted throughout Korea will be marking its ninth installment since its inauguration in 2015.

“This year’s celebrations are particularly important because they are being held on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and the Republic of Korea, two friendly countries with two millennia-old civilizational connect," said Kumar.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]