On August 25-26, 2021, the Korea Foundation hosted a workshop and an education program for international exchange program coordinators from local governments and their affiliated international exchange organizations. The workshop on August 25 was organized as part of the KF Public Diplomacy Academy. It aimed to foster cooperation on a continual basis among the member organizations of the Korea Network for International Exchange (KNIE), which was founded in 2014. Until 2019, the network, which is currently composed of ten organizations, held annual workshops, but due the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s edition was a hybrid online and offline workshop.

In the workshop, member organizations shared their respective programs to overcome the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and introduced joint and touring projects. In addition, Prof. Moon Kyung-yon of Jeonbuk National University delivered an insightful lecture on public diplomacy and international development cooperation.

The education program, which was offered on August 27, strictly observed the government’s social distancing measures and was also held both online and offline. Managing Director Jang Young-suk of the Arumjigi Culture Keepers Foundation gave a lecture on the inheritance and development of cultural heritage. He was followed by Amb. Cho Yun-su, South Korea’s former ambassador to Turkey, who currently teaches as visiting professor at Busan University of Foreign Studies. His lecture focused on international exchange and diplomacy. Finally, Amb. Nguyen Vu Tung, the Vietnamese Ambassador to South Korea, delivered a lecture on international exchange between Viet Nam and South Korea.

We hope that the workshop and education program, held amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, contributed to the forming of networks among international exchange program coordinators across the country.