A special lecture by British Ambassador, Colin James Crookes was held in the auditorium of the Yeonam Hall on the afternoon of the June 13th. This lecture is the last lecture of the ‘Ajou Lecture’ in the first semester of 2024, and was held under the theme of "Britain and the Korean Peninsula" with more than 300 students from ‘Ajou Lecture’ and general students participating.

Colin Crooks was appointed as the British Ambassador to Korea in 2022, and prior to this, he served as an ambassador in North Korea for three years from 2018. He also worked at the Korean embassy from 1995 to 1999. He has a reputation as a representative expert on the Korean Peninsula because of his experience working as ambassadors in both South and North Korea. He studied Korean in the 1990s, Korea, so he has a full command of Korean. As well as this day, the lecture was conducted in Korean without interpretation.

Ambassador Crooks started his lecture by showing the daily lives of North Koreans with photos taken in North Korea. He then received positive feedback by telling the experiences and hidden stories of the events he led while working at the embassy, including Planning an event for Queen Elizabeth II's visit to South Korea in 1999 carrying out a state visit to the U.K. by Yoon Suk Yeol President in 2023.

In addition, he explained the areas and examples of bilateral cooperation such as AI, nuclear power plants, bio, space, semiconductors, clean energy, etc. International Women's Day, Green Week commemorative student daily ambassador program  UK study support program (Chevening scholarship), drawing interest and favor for the UK.

During the question-and-answer session that followed the lecture, when asked to compare the taste of South Korean and North Korean beer, he said, "The Daedong River beer was more delicious because the Daedong River beer manufacturing facility was imported from Britain." Regarding the difference between South Korea and North Korea, he answered, "Of course, there is a big difference in the social system and atmosphere, but they are very similar in terms of food, so I felt that they are the same people."

Ambassador Crooks concluded the 90-minute lecture, saying, "The British Embassy will work closely together in various fields, such as responding to climate change and realizing equality for women and minorities."

Colin Crooks, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Korea

 A student at Ajou University who questions to Colin Crooks