Keeping up the spirit of togetherness and brotherhood, the Southeast Asian Embassies along with the ASEAN-Korea Center held their annual Friendship Games last Saturday.
Singapore Ambassador Chua Thai Keong (left) returns a serve from Vietnam Ambassador Tran Trong Toan. Yoav Cerralbo/The Korea Herald
“The event is significant for the ASEAN community here because we are not only cooperating very well in our daily work but also in our spare time while promoting the spirit of the ASEAN community,” said Tran Trong Toan, Vietnam ambassador and chair of the ASEAN Committee in Seoul.
Diplomats and their families from Southeast Asian embassies competed in badminton, basketball and table tennis events.
“The games provide us the opportunity to get to know each other better and break the ice while discussing many things informally,” said Malaysian Ambassador Dato Ramlan Bin Ibrahim.
The all-day event brought on smiles from diplomats and children alike.
“This is a great platform to bring the families here and to bring embassy people out to enjoy ourselves,” said Ramlan.
The Malaysian ambassador admitted that the ambassadors and diplomats cannot refrain from discussing business, except that in this environment it is conducted in an informal and friendly manner, not with a suit and tie.
The match that brought on the most spectators was the basketball game between members of Southeast Asian embassies against the team from the Korea-ASEAN Center.
It was a close game with both teams struggling for the win. In the end, the ASEAN team won by a basket.
In the table tennis competition, Cambodia Ambassador Lim Samkol defended his championship title against his Vietnamese counterpart who proved that there is a hot new player in town.
Back and forth went the ball and points, with both men ahead at various points of the game. When it was all said and done, Lim defended his championship to once again hold the coveted singles badminton title.
However, the Vietnamese ambassador did not leave empty handed as he and his first secretary Phan Duuq Duong won the men’s doubles table tennis competition.
Indonesia’s Anita Rishtiyanto and Vina Karnida brought home the bragging rights for the women’s doubles table tennis.
In VIP doubles badminton action, Brunei Ambassador Dato Haji Harun Ismail and Ramlan were too much for opposing teams.
Ismail also won when he teamed up with Myanmar Ambassador Myo Lwin in the VIP doubles badminton title.
In the regular doubles badminton event, Laos’ Boun Thong and B. Thanh dominated for the second year in a row.
While this is an annual event, Indonesian Ambassador Nicholas Dammen is currently suggesting holding the ASEAN-Korea Friendship Games twice a year to match with the ACS chair which rotates every six months.
Last year, Dammen invited fellow ambassadors and diplomats from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to sporting events to his embassy on Yeouido for the same reason as these Friendship Games.
When asked what he thought of Dammen’s idea of holding the games twice a year, the Vietnamese ambassador agreed that events like these should be held twice a year “because it’s not only for our health but also for our friendship and cooperation amongst ASEAN embassies.”
