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네이버 공유 카카오 공유 트위터 공유 페이스북 공유

“Public Diplomacy and the Korea Foundation: Past, Present and Future”

An international conference to mark the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Foundation was successfully held at the KF Cultural Center on September 4-5. Under the theme of “Public Diplomacy and the Korea Foundation: Past, Present and Future,” the conference served as a meaningful occasion to review the Foundation’s overall activities during the past 15 years and to discuss its vision and mission for the future. In this global-village era, of active and diverse exchange and broadened scope of international interaction, emphasis is being focused on the need and importance of “soft power,” to forge friendly relations with the rapidly growing economies of the so-called “BRICs,” and third-world countries, more than ever before. It is especially significant that this conference was organized at a time when the Foundation is seeking to develop more strategic and effective ways to implement its programs by evaluating and sharing the public diplomacy experiences and cases of other leading countries.

Public Diplomacy and National Image

In his keynote address, entitled “Public Diplomacy,” former Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Han Sung-Joo defined public diplomacy as diplomacy conducted by a country or an international organization toward the public (including non governmental organizations and groups, and citizens) of other countries, in contrast to the traditional diplomacy undertaken with the governments of other countries or international organizations. Emphasizing that soft power could not only substitute for hard power but also play a more effective role in international relations, which has been mainly influenced by hard power thus far, he stated that public diplomacy based on such soft power could contribute much to fulfillment of the diplomatic goals of a country, and furthermore to world peace and prosperity. As an example of how “cultural diplomacy” can serve as an effective means of public diplomacy, former Minister Han congratulated the Foundation on the faithful fulfillment of its mission over the past 15 years as an essential pivot of Korea’s international exchange activities, and also asked for the Foundation to continue its leading role as the representative international exchange organization in Korea.

In Session I, “Public Diplomacy and Promoting National Images,” conference presenters introduced the public diplomacy experiences of various countries and discussed effective ways to promote a positive national image. Joshua Fouts, Director of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, explained the paradigm of U.S. public diplomacy, while noting that the recent environment, enabling people around the world to communicate with one another through many-to-many networks in virtual space, such as the Internet, had d a huge shift in the rules and arena of traditional public diplomacy. He also pointed out that this virtual space could serve as a key tool of public diplomacy and be utilized as a venue for inter-cultural dialogue, while perceptions of national values and ideals could be strengthened or altered by real-time interaction in such space.

In addition, Ian Simm, Director of the British Council Korea, and Yoshio Okubo, Executive Vice President of the Japan Foundation, stressed in their remarks that both of their organizations, neither governmental nor private, have managed to secure an independent standing, free from regular government administration, which contributed greatly to their countries’ public diplomacy through a variety of autonomous programs. They also emphasized that investment in mutual understanding and cooperation beyond cultural boundaries, through such public diplomacy, was needed to build a framework for continued and long-term understanding of a country, which can serve to notably influence political and trade relations with other countries. In his comparison and analysis of the Korea Foundation and the Japan Foundation, Seoul National University Professor Park Cheol-hee, representing the interests of the Korean side, pointed out the urgency of securing the Korea Foundation’s independence, along with maintaining that the Foundation should play the role of a leader among various other local organizations involved in the promotion of our national image.

In Session II, on the Korea Foundation and bolstering of international awareness, the participants reviewed a variety of exchange programs implemented by the Foundation during the past 15 years, and engaged in in-depth discussion of related problems and ways to improve these programs. James Lewis, Professor of the University of Oxford, U.K., described the current status and problems of the Foundation’s support for Korean Studies abroad, while Niu Linjie, Dean of College of Korean Studies, Shandong University, China, commented about the results of Foundation scholarship and fellowship programs. Other specialists from Korea evaluated the Foundation’s support for overseas Korean-language education, think tanks, forums, and museums. This overview was followed by frank discussion between the conference participants and the Foundation’s directors of individual support programs. Topics of discussion included support for Korean Studies programs at European universities currently experiencing various difficulty, support for Korean Studies scholars in China, cooperation with local organizations to effectively promote Korean-language education abroad, enhanced efficiency for extending assistance to think-tank groups, and evaluation and future direction of support for overseas museums.

At the Forefront of International Exchange in Korea

During Session III, entitled “Mapping of the Future of the Korea Foundation,” on the second day of the conference, the participants focused on the future role and promotion of a more positive Foundation image. The session began with a summary of the current status and pressing issues of the Foundation, by Kim Hyeh-won, Executive Vice President of the Foundation; followed by a presentation of the Deloitte consultant report on the structure and operation of the Foundation, commissioned in 2004; and remarks on expectations of the Foundation, by Kim Young-hie, JoongAng Ilbo chief diplomatic correspondent. The pending issues in need of the Foundation’s attention included improvement of organizational efficiency, stabilization of its funding situation, and the administration’s plans to relocate the Foundation headquarters to Jeju Island. While mentioning the high expectations of the Foundation’s key role as the leading Korean organization of international exchange, JoongAng Ilbo correspondent Kim Young-hie pointed out the need to rectify the regional imbalance in support and diversify the targets of program assistance.

Session IV featured a roundtable discussion chaired by Yonsei University Professor Moon Chung In. Discussants included Lee In-ho, former President of the Korea Foundation; Chung Eui-Yong, Member of National Assembly, Uri Party; Koo Bon Woo, Director-General, Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Hahn Myung-hee, Director, Imisi Academy for Korean Music-Culture; Shin Kyoung Min, MBC news commentator; Niu Linje, Dean, College of Korean Studies, Shandong University, China; and Peter Beck, Director, North Asia Project, International Crisis Group. With everyone agreeing that the significance of public diplomacy in Korea has been poorly publicized, the discussants emphasized that the Foundation, to overcome this situation, should boost the profile of existence by implementing more substantive programs and making its achievements more widely known to the general public here. It was also recommended that the Foundation needs to not only conduct international exchanges but to also publicize its activities much more actively among the general public to enhance their understanding about the Foundation’s efforts. In assessing the conference, one of the discussants noted: “It was a very significant meeting to review the 15 years of the Foundation’s achievements and think about the future direction of the Foundation. It was also important to confirm universal values, that is, to find a common ground for the need and potential for the diplomacy of persuasion, rather than of force, and cultural diplomacy.”


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