Former Mongolian President Natsagiin Bagabandi presented President Park Geun-hye with the Mongolian version of her autobiography “Despair Trains Me and Hope Moves Me,” Cheong Wa Dae said Monday.
The two met last Friday on the sidelines of the Global Cooperation in the Era of Eurasia conference during which Bagabandi presented Park with the book.
Inside, Bagabandi wrote in Korean, “Dear President Park, It is hoped that all your promises to the people are implemented.” Bagabandi served as president from 1997 to 2005.
In the introduction of the book, incumbent Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj described Park as the first woman president to be elected in South Korea from being a daughter of a leader during the times of fast economic growth. Elbegdorj went on to say that while the book is a retrospection of her past, it is also a story of promise and passion for the future, and that the Mongolian readers will be able to understand the modern history, social changes and domestic and foreign polices of Korea.
Cheong Wa Dae explained that the book was translated and published jointly by the Mongolian Association of Graduates in Korea and the Korean Embassy in Mongolia.
The autobiography, published in 2007 ahead of Park’s first presidential bid, was also released in Chinese in three versions earlier this year, presidential spokeswoman Kim Haing said.
Other books in foreign languages describing Park’s journey have been published in the past year upon Park’s election, including four books in China and Taiwan, and one in Japan.
By Lee Joo-hee ()
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
