The Korea Foundation and Arirang TV co-hosted the first Arirang-KF Global Media Forum at the Grand Hilton Hotel Seoul on February 21-24, 2012. The Forum was entitled, “Bridging the Divide.” The inaugural Arirang-KF Global Media Forum brought together fifty-four CEOs and experts from forty-six organizations and twenty-eight countries. The Forum had over 300 participants in six different sessions.

The Forum started with the CEO Roundtable on the topic, “Global Media: National Advocacy or Global Common Good” with five CEO panelists and the President of The Korea Foundation, Woosang Kim, as moderator. Some of the major international media issues discussed at the Forum were East Asian Security, Cultural Diversity, Development, Public Diplomacy, and the New Media. Panelists and participants at each session discussed and debated on how to “narrow the divide” on each respective issue. On February 23, the participants wrote a “Summary of Understanding”; and also expressed interest in holding the Forum on a regular basis. During the Forum the participants had a chance to experience Korean culture at the K-Culture Performance Dinner.

The Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Kwang-shik Choe gave the Congratulatory Remarks, and a former Prime Minister, Hong-Koo Lee, delivered the Keynote Speech. Many high governmental figures participated as panelists, for example, from abroad, Petar Andonov (Bulgarian Ambassador to Korea), Jaroslav Olsa, Jr. (Czech Ambassador to Korea), and Vishnu Prakash (Indian Ambassador to Korea); and from the ROK, Eui-Hwa Chung (Member, National Assembly), JaeYoung Lee (Member, National Assembly), Young Sam Ma (Ambassador for Public Diplomacy, MOFAT), Jie-Ae Sohn (President, Arirang TV), Woosang Kim (President, The Korea Foundation)..

In his welcoming remarks the President of The Korea Foundation, Woosang Kim, noted the significance of the Arirang-KF Global Media Forum for not only the international community but also domestically; for example, Koreans will see how a new government handles important issues such as “bridging the divide” within Korean society. President Kim concluded his speech by stating, “By constructing global media networks, I believe we will be able to contribute to producing international public goods that are not biased parochial interests.”