On 3 February 2022, National Assembly of the Republic of Korea saw the unveiling of the exhibition “BATUN – Baltic Appeal to the United Nations”. The exhibition was organized by Latvian Embassy in the Republic of Korea, Mr. Yoon Sanghyun, Chairman of Latvia-Korea Parliamentary Friendship Group of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, and in cooperation with Estonian and Lithuanian Embassies in the Republic of Korea.
The exhibition was opened by the Ambassador of Latvia Āris Vīgants, the Ambassador of Estonia Sten Schwede, and the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the Embassy of Lithuania, Vilijus Samuila. Participants gave their comments to Arirang TV, a representative English broadcasting station of Korea, which recorded the event, on the significance of the BATUN movement for the Baltic States in the process of regaining their independence.
Exhibited materials tell the story of BATUN - one of the most influential Baltic organizations in exile from 1965 to the early 1990s and organization’s contribution to restoration of independence of the Baltic States and accession of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to the United Nations.
The content of the exhibition was created by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, the Museum of Occupation of Latvia, National Archives of Latvia and National Library of Latvia, and it was previously exhibited at the UN headquarters in New York in 2016, as well as at the UN Palace in Geneva and the Damda Museum of Art and Contemporary History in Korea at the end of 2021.
The exhibition is one of the public diplomacy events dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Latvia’s accession to the UN. The three Baltic States of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania were admitted to membership in the UN on 17 September 1991, and they are sharing this anniversary with the Republic of Korea, which joined the UN on the same day.