SEOUL, July 07 (AJP) - A road in Bethlehem will be named Korea Street this week, a symbolic gesture of appreciation for South Korea’s development and humanitarian support for Palestinians as the West Bank city struggles with the economic fallout from the prolonged Gaza war.
The Palestinian Authority and Bethlehem Municipality will hold a ceremony Wednesday with the Representative Office of the Republic of Korea to Palestine and the Korea International Cooperation Agency, or KOICA, to sign an agreement on a new startup hub development project, officials said.
The road across from the project site will be named Korea Street, officials said. It marks a rare honor for a foreign donor in Bethlehem, one of the best-known Christian pilgrimage destinations in the world.
The project comes as Bethlehem’s economy, heavily dependent on tourism and religious pilgrimages, has been battered by the war in Gaza that began in October 2023. Foreign pilgrims and tourists have sharply declined, forcing hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops and travel agencies to scale back or close. Local officials say unemployment has risen above 30 percent.
South Korea plans to provide $11 million for the startup hub project through 2032. The program is designed to support young Palestinian entrepreneurs, foster small businesses and create sustainable jobs in Bethlehem, where tourism has long accounted for more than 70 percent of the local economy.
A Korean representative office official said the startup hub project is the largest development project carried out in Bethlehem over the past two decades. The official said goodwill toward South Korea has remained strong in the city, partly because Korean pilgrims were among the first organized tourist groups received by the local community in earlier years.
Bethlehem, home to the Church of the Nativity, has long hosted development projects backed by countries including France, Spain, Italy, the United States, Britain and Japan. But officials said naming a street after a donor country is unusual in the city.
The ceremony will also feature Korean cultural performances, including a traditional sogeum flute performance and taekwondo poomsae demonstration. Officials said a King Sejong Institute, which promotes Korean language and culture overseas, is also set to open at Bethlehem University.
The Korea Street designation comes as South Korea has expanded assistance to Palestinians through development and humanitarian programs.
South Korea and Palestine established official relations in 2005, and Seoul opened its representative office in Ramallah in 2014. South Korea has not formally recognized Palestinian statehood, but it says it supports a two-state solution and has pledged to consider recognition when it would help advance that goal.
KOICA’s work in Palestine predates the formal relationship. UNICEF said in 2021 that KOICA had supported Palestine since 1994, providing about $73 million in assistance focused on education, job creation, public-sector capacity and health care.
South Korea has also increased humanitarian support since the Gaza war began. The Foreign Ministry said in late 2024 that Seoul had provided $40 million for Gaza-related humanitarian needs since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict. In 2025, South Korea announced $30 million in assistance through UNDP, UNICEF and the World Food Programme to support food aid, shelter, health care, education and water services in Gaza, as well as food vouchers for economically distressed Palestinians in the West Bank.
More recently, South Korea launched a $10 million support program for Palestinian refugees and displaced people in Gaza and Egypt through the Korean Red Cross and the Egyptian Red Crescent.
For Bethlehem, officials say the startup hub is intended to move beyond emergency relief by helping build a more self-sustaining local economy.
The road naming, they said, is meant to reflect not only gratitude for South Korean aid but also confidence in a broader partnership at a time when Palestinians face deepening economic and humanitarian pressures.
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