State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid on Monday said significant books in Bengali are being considered to be translated into Korean language and the translation department of the Bangla Academy will take necessary steps in this regard.

The State Minister shared this information while attending the award giving ceremony of the "Ujan Book Review Contest 2021" for two translated books 'Korean Poetry' and 'Korean Story' as the chief guest.

The two books were published by the publishing house Ujan, in collaboration with the Literature Translation Institute, Korea at the Poet Sufia Kamal Auditorium of the Bangladesh National Museum in Shahbagh.

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At the event, KM Khalid said that South Korea is a true friend of Bangladesh. After independence, South Korea extended its helping hand in rebuilding the country, and 2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and South Korea.

He also added that South Korea is the third largest development partner of Bangladesh, with about 75,000 jobs filled by Bangladeshis at the Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) in Chittagong, and about 20,000 Bangladeshis working in South Korea.

Moreover, about one and a half thousand Bangladeshi students, teachers and researchers are pursuing higher studies at various levels in Korea’s world class education system. 
“Overall, South Korea is one of the leading development partners of Bangladesh,’ Khalid said at the event.

Mentioning that Bangla Academy is an organization dedicated to the development of the Bengali language and culture established in the context of the Language Movement of 1952, Khalid expressed his hope that the academy would be able to fulfill its major objective.

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Chaired by Director General of Bangla Academy Poet Muhammad Nurul Huda, the event was also joined by Lee Jang-Keun, Ambassador of South Korea to Bangladesh, as the special guest speaker.

Chanda Mahbub, translator of 'Korean Poetry', Saraishwarya Muhammad, translator of 'Korean Story', poet Sohail Hasan Ghalib and translator Sheuli Fateha also spoke on the occasion.

At the ceremony, KM Khalid also handed over the prizes to the three winners of the book review contest and ten selected participants.