President Moon Attends Dinner Hosted by Austrian President

'Belvedere' Palace, Meaning Beautiful View, Hosts Event... Performances by Korean and Austrian Musicians Also Held

[Austria (Vienna) = Joint Press Corps] President Moon Jae-in, on a state visit to Austria, attended a dinner hosted by the Austrian President at Belvedere Palace on the 14th (local time). The dinner lasted for two hours, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Park Kyung-mi, the Blue House spokesperson, explained in a written briefing on the 15th, "The dinner venue was Belvedere Palace, which is well known in our country and exhibits works by Austria's representative painters Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele," adding, "Belvedere means 'beautiful view' in Italian, and the palace offers a very beautiful scenery."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At the state dinner, the Korean side was represented by the official delegation including official and special attendants, as well as representatives of the Korean community. Austria was represented by 56 attendees including Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler, former President Fischer, government officials, Pedro Lopez Quintana, the Apostolic Nuncio to Austria, and R?diger Frank, director of the East Asian Institute at the University of Vienna.

Spokesperson Park said, "Professor Frank is a Korean studies specialist and the author of 'Traveling in North Korea,'" and explained, "The dinner menu consisted of seasonal asparagus and traditional Austrian dishes made with sea bass caught from the Danube River."

Meanwhile, the dinner featured a performance by the 'Korea-Austria Philharmonic Orchestra,' composed of Korean and Austrian musicians. Spokesperson Park stated, "The pieces performed included 'Korean Suite No. 1' by Korean composer Kim Han-ki, as well as chamber works by Austrian composers Haydn and Mozart, symbolizing the solidarity between Korea and Austria."