From June 18 through 22, 2018, the Korea Foundation invited 22 Chinese journalists to Korea under its “Next Generation Leaders Program.” Launched as part of efforts to develop a strategic partnership between the Republic of Korea and China in 2008, the program aims to consolidate cooperative relations between Korea and China and annually invites next-generation leaders from different fields, including journalism, culture and sports.

The Chinese delegation was composed of young journalists from leading news media such as People’s Daily Online, Phoenix Net and Guangzhou Daily, who were recommended by ten South Korean diplomatic missions across China – Beijing, Chengdu, Dalian, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenyang, Wuhan and Xian.

During their stay in Korea, they visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be briefed on overall ROK-China relations, and met with lawmaker Park Byeong-seug, President of the Korea-China Inter-Parliamentary Council. In addition, they visited the China Institute of the JoongAng Ilbo and the Aju Business Daily to meet with Korean journalists. They also visited the Press Arbitration Commission to be introduced to Korea’s advanced system to resolve press disputes. Finally, they visited Imjingak, Dorasan Station, the Dora Observatory and the Third Infiltration Tunnel at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to look back on the painful history of the two Koreas and reflect on the peace process on the Korean peninsula, which is currently in the global spotlight.