“When Korean President Park Geun-hye and Spanish King Felipe VI met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York,” Spanish Ambassador Gonzalo Ortiz said in a speech, “they set a road map that we have covered step by step in previous months.”

Spain, as a deep-rooted European Union nation, bolstered its strategic engagement with Korea during the 8th EU-Korea Summit in Seoul on Sept. 15. Korea is Spain’s third-largest trading partner in Asia after China and Japan with $5 billion in bilateral trade last year. Moreover, the Chamber of Commerce of Spain was launched in Korea in July.

The earliest contact between the two countries, the visit of Spanish Jesuit Gregorio de Cespedes during the Joseon era (1392-1897), occurred in 1593. He lived in a small seaside town near Changwon in what is now South Gyeongsang Province for a year, spreading the Catholic faith, before heading to Japan where he spent the rest of his life. Changwon will dedicate a park in his name before the year ends. 

Turning to recent history, the ambassador underscored Spain’s economic recovery following a crippling downturn in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis.

“The Spanish economy has overcome recent years’ difficulties and has emerged from a recession,” Ortiz stressed. “A change of economic cycle has been established, with eight consecutive quarters of positive growth.”

Last year alone, the country’s gross domestic product grew by 1.4 percent and various international analysts, including the International Monetary Fund, forecast growth figures above 3 percent for this year.

According to the Economist, the Spanish economy ― the fourth largest in the eurozone and 14th in the world ― has rebound steadily since 2014, as a product of labor and tax reforms, reduction of public debt and strengthening of the financial structural competitiveness.

Low inflation, the cheap euro, falling energy prices and rising financial stability across Europe have also played their parts, analysts noted. 

Highlighting these developments, Ortiz, who started at his post a year ago, said that the economic recuperation has positively affected bilateral relations through tourism, defense contracts, food import and Spanish investment in Korea. 

Spain, one of the top destinations for Korean tourists, has attracted over 237,000 Korean visitors in the first eight months of this year, the Spanish embassy noted.

On the defense side, the Airbus Military, a consortium of the U.K., Germany, France and Spain, won a $1.3 billion contract in late June, with an agreement to supply four air refueling tankers to the Korean Air Force by 2019, beating out its American rival Boeing in the bid.

The ambassador also pointed to surging interests in Spanish gastronomy and fashion, as trendy young Koreans and connoisseurs increasingly search for refined alternatives in leisure.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Koreans pay more for Spanish fashion brand Zara than in any other country, and according to Ortiz, the demand for Spanish wine, olive oil and Iberic ham has been burgeoning.

Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)