Events commemorating Korea's first ambassador to Russia will be held in St. Petersburg

Events commemorating Korea's first ambassador to Russia Prince Lee Bun Jin will be held in St. Petersburg today. A monument to the outstanding diplomat will be unveiled on the city's northern cemetery where Lee Bum Jin is buried. He was under the special patronage of the Korean emperor and rendered Russia major services during the Russian-Japanese war. Apart from that, a memorial plaque will be opened on the house where Korea's first envoy to Russia lived.

Lee Bum Jin (1852-1911) was the illegitimate son of Prince Lee Kyong Hah, commander-in-chief of the Korean army. He was appointed plenipotentiary minister (extraordinary and plenipotentiary envoy) of the Korean embassy to Russia in 1899. During the Russian-Japanese war in 1905 Lee Bum Jin provided the Russian government with information on the movement and actions of the Japanese army.

Taking part in the events in St. Petersburg will be 270 participants in the "Russian-Korean Friendship Express" that started out in Vladivostok a month ago and concluded its trip across Russia in St. Petersburg.