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네이버 공유 카카오 공유 트위터 공유 페이스북 공유

Narrowing the Distance between Korea and Europe

To wrap up their eight-day stay in Korea, the participants of the Korea-Europe Next-Generation Leaders Program made a final stop at the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, where they enjoyed the exquisite works of traditional and contemporary Korean art.



Building Friendly Relations
The Second Korea-Europe Next-Generation Leaders Program was co-hosted by the Korea Foundation and the National Strategy Institute (October 7-14), as part of the international exchanges of people that are intended to bolster Korea’s status and role in the international community and promote future-oriented relations with representative individuals from various countries. This program sought to enhance young European leaders’ understanding about Korea, and provide them with an opportunity to build personal networks and relationships with their Korean counterparts, and closely cooperate and maintain friendly relations with Korea in the future.
The second round of this program included the participation of 23 next-generation leaders, under the age of 40, who represented the 22 EU member countries of Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the U.K., along with a participant from Turkey. The European delegation members were selected mainly from EU member countries, which already maintain active exchanges with Korea and are poised to expand cooperation in various sectors in the future.
Representing the political, business, academic, and journalism sectors, the European participants included legislators, political figures, government officials, and executives of businesses with operations in Korea, along with the staff persons of the Asia-related sections of prominent media firms. Meanwhile, the Korean delegation was composed of 15 promising, young leaders of Korea from similar fields. Of particular note, the representatives from Korea’s political and business sectors took the initiative, in terms of interacting with the EU participants.
The program activities included a conference event and discussion sessions, together with visits and field trips to a variety of attractions, including Panmunjeom at the DMZ, relevant institutions, industrial complexes, and cultural/historical sites. These experiences and spending time with the Korean participants helped the visitors to acquire a better understanding about Korea, which will contribute much to promoting more cooperative relations.

Advocates of Korea
At the conference event, which adopted a theme of ‘Common Challenges of the 2010s for Asia and Europe,’ the Korean and European next-generation leaders addressed common issues that will need to be overcome in the 2010s and discussed ways to expand cooperation in these efforts. Of note, Korea University President Han Sung-joo’s luncheon address on the diplomatic relations and policy outlook of Korea offered insight into the basic directions of Korea’s diplomacy.
In addition, visits to leading institutions and the Panmunjeom at the DMZ were arranged to help the European delegation better understand Korea’s political and administrative systems, and the current situation on the Korean Peninsula through an informational briefing about the reality of Korea’s division and the difficult challenge of attaining unification. The participants also visited major industrial complexes in provincial cities and learned about Korea’s industrial development, current as well as future.
While touring the restored Cheonggyecheon Stream in Seoul, a participant from Spain said that the environment-friendly Cheonggyecheon project could serve as a useful model for the urban development of Madrid. The European delegation members, a majority of whom were visiting Korea for the first time, were surprised at the remarkable development of Korea and promised to make efforts to help make Korea better known in their home countries. They explained that visiting cultural and historic sites, including Bulguksa Temple, Seokguram Grotto, and Cheonmachong Tomb in Gyeongju; attending the presentation of Korea’s traditional performing arts; and the hands-on experiences of pottery-making and dyeing, were especially helpful for understanding Korean culture.
Ms. Kwon Hee Young of the Intellectual Exchange Department of the Korea Foundation, who accompanied the delegation, noted: “They showed keen interest in the Cheonggyecheon project in Seoul and the visit to Gyeongju to experience traditional Korean culture, probably because of the nature-friendly culture of European people.” She added: “I hope that the program can contribute to realizing close relations between Korea and Europe on a continual basis.” In this way, the Foundation’s intellectual exchange activities, like the Korea-Europe Next-Generation Leaders Program, are playing a key role in enhancing the status of Korea throughout the global community.

Interview

Q: How were you able to participate in the Korea-Europe Next-Generation Leaders Program?
A: Vincent Sciama: I was recommended for the program by the Korean Embassy in Paris. As an official in charge of Korean affairs at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I think a visit to Korea is a must. Above all, it was a very good opportunity for me to experience Korean culture.
Jessica Asato: Personally, this is my first visit to an Asian country. I accepted the invitation so that I could enhance my understanding about Korea and Asia.

Q: Have you been satisfied with the program activities?
A: Vincent Sciama: I found everything quite satisfying. It offered me an opportunity to see both the culture and highly advanced technology of Korea. Especially, the visit to Gyeongju was greatly impressive. For example, it was wonderful that we could experience Korean culture by visiting a Buddhist temple, like Bulguksa, and Seokguram Grotto, and learning Korea’s traditional dying methods and tea ceremony at the Korea House. It was also great to see the advanced technology of Korea when we visited Korean industries, including Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai Heavy
Industries, and SK Energy.
Jessica Asato: First of all, it was a good opportunity to experience the traditional culture of Korea.
I found traditional Korean architecture and the unique style of tombs in Gyeongju very impressive.
Of course, the hands-on experiences, with Korea’s traditional dying and tea ceremony, rather
than just simply observing, were wonderful. In addition, I could keenly sense the rapid economic
development of Korea. I noticed photos of Seoul taken 40 to 50 years ago when I walked along the
Cheonggyecheon Stream. Devastated by war, Seoul in those pictures looked very much different
from the Seoul of today, which is modern and developed. Personally, this was an insightful experience because it vividly showed me the dramatic economic growth of Korea.

Q: What can be done to strengthen cooperation between Korea and Europe?
A: Vincent Sciama: I think academic exchanges between Korea and European countries are needed more than anything else. I hope there will be more active exchanges of people in the academic sector through university-level exchanges, student exchanges, and more chances for scholarship aid.
Jessica Asato: Politicians and scholars in many European countries, as well as the U.K., are well
aware of Korea, but frankly speaking, the ordinary Europeans do not know much about Korea. I
think Korea needs to consider this and be more active in enhancing the public’s awareness of Korea.Of course, this should not be undertaken in a one-sided way of only publicizing Korea. Korea and Europe should exchange information with each other more actively. I think Korea and European countries will be able to have closer relations through such a process.

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