Sustainable Dutch delta is central theme on Dutch day at Expo 2012 in Korea
Prince of Orange Willem-Alexander and minister Melanie Schultz van Hagen of infrastructure visited the Expo 2012 in the Korean city of Yeosu on June 18 on the occasion of the National Day of the Netherlands. The Dutch contribution to the expo concentrates on sustainable delta’s.
Most famous Dutchman in Korea: Hendrick Hamel
The Dutch pavilion takes the visitor back to the Golden Age, the 17th century, when the Dutch built ever bigger merchant ships, trading products all over the world. One of the sailors was Hendrick Hamel. In 1653 this Dutch sailor was on its way to Japan but ended up in prison in Korea because of a storm.
After his return to the Netherlands, thirteen years later, his journal was published, bringing Korea for the first to the attention of the Europeans.
Today, Hamel is still very famous amongst Koreans for making their country known in the Western world.
An audio-visual presentation takes the visitor on a virtual tour through the Dutch delta landscape, showing its world famous water works.
Densly populated and low lying Rhine-Meuse delta
In the Dutch pavilion the visitor is welcomed by Hendrick Hamel and an audiovisual map shows the visitor how Dutch civil engineering and water management developed, creating new land and protecting the low lying Rhine-Meuse delta against flooding.
Strengthening relation between Korean and Dutch water sector
The Prince of Orange and minister Schultz also head a trade mission to strengthen the relation between the Dutch and the Korean water sectors.
Research institute Deltares and engineering firm DHV already work closely with K-Water on major Korean water projects such as the land reclamation of Seamangeum and the restoration of Korea’s four major rivers.
Future cooperation on sustainable watermanagement
During the trade mission Korean and Dutch experts will meet in special organized seminars and explore future cooperation on sustainable water management and tidal energy.
Also read the official Expo 2012 weblog: www.2012expo.wordpress.com
More information
Netherlands Embassy in South Korea
Seol, South Korea
+82 2-311 8600
www.southkorea.nlembassy.org
DHV
Amersfoort, the Netherlands
+31 33 468 37 00
www.dhvgroup.com
Deltares
Delft, the Netherlands
+31 88 335 8273
www.deltares.nl
Netherlands Water Partnership
The Hague, the Netherlands
+ 70 304 3700
www.nwp.nl