To commemorate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and the Korean Republic, a festival of contemporary Korean films will start in Kolkata on Thursday.

Korean Ambassador to India Kwon Soon-Tae said five films would be shown at the four-day festival to be inaugurated by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee at Nandan cinema complex.

Bilateral relations had steadily strengthened over the years, Kwon said, adding Indo-Korean two-way trade had reached $2.6 billion in 2002, while Korea had emerged the fifth largest investor in India valued at $2.6 billion.

Soon-Tae said the film festival would be followed by a taekwondo [Korean martial arts] show and Korean music festival in the city.

PTI