Haneul friend: Kim JaeMin from Incheon to Laos | Connectography Speech 105

 

Just added my Connectography Speech of Laos!

Check out the video and let’s learn about Laos together.

Connectography Speech for World Environment Day 2025 | Kim Jaemin (Laos) | 105

Haneul friend: Kim JaeMin from Incheon to Laos

Hello! I hope you’ve been doing well. In Korea, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. How is the weather in your country these days?

For this activity, I wanted to explore Laos’s unique geographical features. So, I looked into the Kuang Si Waterfalls and the Kong Lor Cave.

The Kuang Si Waterfalls are formed by travertine terraces, and the Kong Lor Cave is a limestone cave.

Both of these places are located in regions where limestone is the bedrock. As I researched further, I found that a large part of Laos’s territory along the Mekong River basin consists of limestone areas.

This raised a question for me: Does groundwater in Laos contain a lot of dissolved limestone? If so, I wonder how Laotians secure drinking water.

I’m very interested in geography, so I would really appreciate it if you could share some photos of the natural and cultural landscapes of your country with me. Thank you!

These days, spring has arrived in Korea, and various flowers, including cherry blossoms, are blooming. However, the temperature difference between day and night is quite large, with daytime highs around 15°C and nighttime lows around 5°C, so it gets cold in the evening. Occasionally, there is some precipitation, but the amount is minimal. This is because Korea has a Cw climate, influenced by monsoons, so most of the rainfall is concentrated in the summer. I assume that in your country, the weather is currently quite hot, with daytime highs nearing 30°C.

However, recently, Korea has been experiencing drastic temperature fluctuations. Although today (as of April 11, 2025, Korean time) is relatively warm at around 20°C, the temperature is expected to drop sharply to about 10°C the day after tomorrow—a sudden decrease of nearly 10°C.

Moreover, there was even a rare late snowfall in Korea two weeks ago. Typically, snowfall occurs only until February in Korea, so this recent snow was quite unusual.

People in Korea are gradually beginning to feel the effects of climate change. For example, research shows that the summer season is becoming longer than the other seasons. The extended and increasingly hotter summer is making everyday life more difficult for many people.

Recently, I’ve become more interested in climate issues, and I read a news article about Laos committing to achieve net zero by 2050 at COP26.

Net zero, or carbon neutrality, means balancing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted with the amount absorbed, resulting in a net emission of zero.

This challenge could present a significant obstacle to the country’s economic development. However, it seems that the government has determined that the benefits of protecting the environment outweigh the benefits of economic growth.

Laos set this goal in 2021, and I’m curious to know whether the project is currently progressing well and how the citizens feel about such environmental policies.

Hello! My name is JaeMin Kim, and I’m a second-year student at Incheon Hanuel Academy in Korea. I live in Incheon and enjoy sports like soccer, Formula 1, and basketball. I also love traveling and have visited countries such as the U.S., Vietnam, the Philippines, Spain, and the Netherlands. However, I’ve never been to Laos, so I’d love to learn more about it and discuss it with you. Through this GG program, I hope we can freely share about our countries, explore different cultures, and expand our geographical knowledge. I’m looking forward to a great conversation! Thank you!