KOREA FOUNDATION

Letters from AKF

An Unforgettable and Precious Memory 

[ Team 4, 3rd AKF Group ] Ji-yeon Kim 

My time with the 3rd ASEAN-Korea Futurist (AKF) Group has been an enjoyable journey. Together, we published a lot of information for the general public about the ASEAN countries and their cultures. By fulfilling our mission, which included, among other activities, creating social media posts about the ASEAN region and participating in quizzes and cooking classes, I was able to acquire new knowledge and make new experiences. Before joining the AKF program, I had merely a superficial interest in the ASEAN countries, but after joining, I came to truly appreciate the countries’ respective cultures and gained a more open attitude. What’s more, I was also able to better explain to others the relationship between Korea and ASEAN. 

   In fact, after participating in a briefing session about the ASEAN countries, I traveled to Malaysia and felt that my knowledge about ASEAN had deepened. While I was in Kuala Lumpur, I saw women wearing hijab, instantly remembering what I had learnt about religion in Malaysia. And when I saw shops owned by people from various ethnic backgrounds, including Indians, Chinese, and others, I could see with my own eyes what I had learnt about Malaysia’s multi-cultural society. 

   Speaking of multi-culturalism: participating in the AKF program was a special experience because our group consisted not only of Koreans but also of ASEAN students studying in Korea. Making friends over here may have been difficult for those whose Korean language skills were still limited, or because they were still adapting to life in Korea. However, once we joined the AKF program together, we always supported each other with great enthusiasm, and the Korean participants learnt many things from them about ASEAN that can be difficult to find on the internet. Thanks to them, the activities of the 3rd AKF group were particularly meaningful. 

   During our time as ASEAN-Korea Futurists, the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit was held in Busan, and because of that, many people showed an interests in the ASEAN region and the ASEAN Culture House, which made all of us happy. In closing, I would like to say how thankful I am to my friends in the AKF program, who gave me such precious memories. I hope that the members of the 4th AKF Group will spend an equally meaningful time with each other.