From August 19 through 25, 2018, the Korea Foundation hosted a visit by 13 distinguished figures from the cultural sector and high-ranking officials from ASEAN member countries. During their stay in Korea, delegates enjoyed opportunities to enhance their understanding of Korean arts and culture and contribute to the strengthening of cultural exchanges and cooperation between Korea and the ASEAN region.

The Korea Foundation launched the invitation program for “Distinguished Guests from the ASEAN Cultural Sector” in response to the government’s New Southern Policy, which was officially announced in November last year. It aims to elevate the level of cooperation between Korea and the ASEAN region and expand the scope of exchanges, previously predominantly focused on trade, to include such areas as arts, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

The recent ASEAN delegation included leading figures in arts and culture, including Dr. Bui Hoai Son, Executive Director of the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies; Jeremy Barns, Director of the National Museum of the Philippines; Duangkamon Kamalanon, Director of the U-Thong National Museum, Thailand; and Ya Da, Deputy of the Cultural Research Center at the Royal University of Fine Arts, Cambodia.

To deepen their understanding of Korean culture and history and also to build cooperative relations in these areas, the invited guests visited the National Museum of Korea, the Korea Arts Management Service, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, the Korean Film Council, Deoksu Palace, the Busan Cinema Center and other relevant institutions, having discussions with their Korean counterparts on practical ways of cooperation.

In addition, they visited the ASEAN Culture House to discuss how to foster cooperative relations. Established by the Korea Foundation, the ASEAN Culture House has become a key center for cultural exchanges between ASEAN and the Republic of Korea.