From 18-22 July 2022, ACCORD’s Executive Director was invited by the Korea Foundation (KF) to participate in their International Programme. The invitation was arranged through the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to South Africa. The KF is a non-profit organisation affiliated with the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Established in 1991 and designated as the Republic of Korea’s official public diplomacy organisation in 2016, the KF promotes mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of Korea and other nations through a wide range of programmes and activities. The KF regularly invites individuals from various countries’ cultural, academic, media, governmental & legislative, and economic sectors to Korea. Through the programme, participants have the opportunity to visit relevant Korean organisations, participate in academic and cultural events, share their opinions and knowledge with their Korean counterparts, and gain first-hand experiences of Korea’s history and culture.
The Executive Director was one of seven individuals invited on the programme which included a Senior Transatlantic Fellow (and a former Foreign Minister of Slovakia) from the German Marshall Fund of the United States; a Political Advisor from the Committee of Foreign Affairs and the Iraqi Council of Representatives (Parliament); two representatives – a Senior Analyst and a Researcher – from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI); a senior Research Fellow from the East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore; and the Programme Director of Global Security from the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA). The group visited relevant organisations for the first three days, and also visited the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), which was established to serve as a buffer zone between North and South Korea under the provisions of the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953, which was an agreement between North Korea, China, and the United Nations Command. The KF also arranged individual meetings as requested by participants.
