The Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP), a leading think tank in Sweden, opened the “Stockholm Korea Center” on May 15, 2018 with support from the Korea Foundation.

Since its establishment in 2007, the ISDP has conducted research on how to bring peace to conflict zones around the world, drawing on Sweden’s expertise in conflict prevention and crisis management. Dr. Lee Sang-soo, a leading expert in Korean diplomacy and security in Sweden, assumed the inaugural directorship of the Stockholm Korea Center.

The opening ceremony of the Center was attended by Korea Foundation President Lee Sihyung, South Korean Ambassador to Sweden Lee Jeong-kyu, Section Head Henrik Bergquist of the East Asia Department of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and other leading figures. Panel discussions were also organized on Nordic-South Korean relations and prospects for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

With the opening of the first-ever Korea center in Europe, it is expected that new and exciting programs on Northeast Asia and Korea will continue to spread across the European continent. Such programs will include a 1.5-track dialogue with the participation of five parties – North and South Korea, the United States, China and Japan – and the invitation of guest scholars from the two Koreas.