Holding a friendly relationship with South Korea

By Mohammad Nazmul Hasan (Nadim)

Bangladesh is a beautiful country located in South Asia with a land area of 147,570 km2. Dhaka is the capital and largest city, followed by Chittagong which is the largest port in the country. A major part of the country is covered by the Bengal Delta, the largest delta on Earth. The country has 700 rivers and the country’s maritime territory in the Bay of Bengal is roughly equal to the size of its land area. Highlands with green forests are found in the northeastern and southeastern region of the country.

Mohammad Nazmul Hasan (Nadim)

The Cox’s Bazar beach is the largest unbroken sea beach of the world, located in the southeast. The world largest mangrove forest, Sundarbans, is the home of Bengal tigers, the national animal of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a tropical country with a mild winter from October to March and a hot summer from May to August. Overall, it is a country of six seasons- summer, rainy, autumn, late autumn, winter and spring.

The Royal Bengal Tiger: national animal of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a middle power country with a developing nation. The economy of this country ranked 43rd in terms of nominal gross domestic products and 29th in terms of purchasing power parity. It is one of the top ranked textile exporters in the world. Its major trading partners are European Union (EU), United States, China, Japan, India, Singapore and Malaysia. Bangladesh is one of the leading Next Eleven emerging markets. The country’s per capita income is US$1,754 in 2018 with a GDP of $285 billion. This country has 3rd largest South Asian economy after India and Pakistan and 2nd highest foreign-exchange reserves. Major industries that are contributing to boost up the country’s economy include textiles, pharmaceuticals, steel, shipbuilding, chemicals and leather goods. Bangladesh has several top class social enterprises including Grameen Bank (Noble Peace Prize winning organization, 2006) and BRAC (world largest non-government organization). The land of Bangladesh is very fertile and agriculture is the major sector of economy and engaging about 45% of work force. The country is among the top producers of rice (forth), jute (second), potatoes (seventh), farmed fish (fifth) and tropical fruits in the world. However, political conflicts, poor governance and corruptions remain major challenge for the economic growth and development of the country.


Bangladesh is a country of great hospitality. The country people whether rich or poor, are very much welcoming towards foreigners. They love to mingle with guests, invite them at home and offer them delicious and mouthwatering traditional foods. Guests are like angels for almost every house owners and are welcomed with warm greetings.

A beautiful scenario of collecting Water Lily (national flower) during rainy season in a typical village of Bangladesh

Bangladesh joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1972 after its independency from Pakistan in 1971. The country joined the United Nations (UN) in 1974. It has been the world’s largest contributor to UN peacekeeping forces. Bangladesh is the founding member of SAARC, the Developing 8 Countries and engaged with many other international organizations. Japan is Bangladesh’s largest economic aid provider; UK has long cultural and military links with Bangladesh. The country has the largest export market in USA. Besides, Bangladesh provides a large number of skilled workers in the Middle East and has the largest regional market in European Union.

Parliament building of Bangladesh

South Korea has been a great friend and development partner of Bangladesh for long. Both countries remain to be allies in diplomatic and economic relations. Bilaterally, these two countries maintain strong cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, development cooperation and technology transfer, employment and human resource development, education and cultural exchange according to Mr. Enamul Kabir, a formal Bangladesh Ambassador in South Korea. Bangladeshi employees are working in Korean SME's and more or less 500 citizens are researchers or students in various Korean education establishments. Bangladesh maintains a small bundle of exports to South Korea. 35.07% of export receipts come from raw hides and skins and leather, followed by woven garments (29.22%). South Korea has invested in Export Processing Zone (EPZ), RMG industry, Energy and infrastructure development sectors in Bangladesh. Youngone Corporation and Samsung Electronics have a large market in Bangladesh. Overall, the friendship between Bangladesh and South Korea has been great and the bond is getting stronger day by day.

About the author:
I am Mohammad Nazmul Hasan (Nadim), a Bangladeshi citizen, pursuing PhD degree in Green Bio Engineering at Korea National University of Transportation, Chungju, South Korea. I have been out of my home country for long. I completed my Master Degree from Sweden and came to know about South Korea as a good country for research and living. Thus, I moved to South Korea for higher study and hope to complete my study successfully and fulfil my dream.
Email: nazmulchemi@gmail.com

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