President Moon Jae-in smiles as he receives a caricature of himself from Kim Eun-ho from the Chungnam Design Art High School, one of the Korean participants in the 44th WorldSkills 2017 competition that took place recently in Abu Dhabi, at Cheong Wa Dae on Dec. 1.

By Sohn JiAe 

Photos = Cheong Wa Dae 

President Moon Jae-in invited the national WorldSkills team to Cheong Wa Dae on Dec. 1 to give its members his words of encouragement. The team recently finished second in the 44th WorldSkills competition that took place in Abu Dhabi. 

At the vocational skills competition that ran from Oct. 14 to 18 in the UAE capital, a total of 46 young Koreans competed across 49 fields and won eight gold medals, eight silver medals and eight bronze medals. With a total of 24 medals, Team Korea came in second place, just after the Chinese team. 

“In the Middle East, where tenacious young Koreans shed sweat and tears on construction sites some four decades ago, you guys have now implanted an image in the mind of the world that Korea is a technically developed power,” said President Moon. 

President Moon Jae-in poses for a commemorative photo with members of the national team that took part in the 44th WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017 competition, at Cheong Wa Dae on Dec. 1.

“When I see you here today, I know that success in the fourth industrial revolution lies ahead of us. We’ve already proven ourselves successful in the previous second and third industrial revolutions,” the president said. “As previous generations led our country to become a global power in terms of manufacturing and digital industries, you are now the ones to make the blueprint for a brighter future in the era of the upcoming fourth industrial revolution.” 

***