KOREA FOUNDATION

The fourth Korea-China Public Diplomacy Forum, co-organized by the KF and China Public Diplomacy Association (CPDA) and co-hosted by both countries’ Ministries of Foreign Affairs, took place November 28 at the Shangri-La Hotel in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.
  The forum was attended by KF President Lee Sihyung, ROK Ambassador for Public Diplomacy Cho Hyun-dong, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Qian Hongshan, and CPDA Vice President Lu Fengding as representatives of South Korea and China. Including Korean and Chinese experts from the academic, business, and media sectors and the general public, approximately 200 people in total attended the forum.
  Forum participants had open discussions on various topics under the theme “Increasing Exchange and Mutual Trust,” including preservation of culture by young Koreans and Chinese and common responsibilities; the strengthening of bilateral economic and trade cooperation and responses to new challenges in Asia; and measures for complementary culture industry development and cultural innovation. Practical ways to expand mutually beneficial relations in the aforementioned areas were also discussed.
  In his speech at the opening ceremony, Korea Foundation President Lee Sihyung said it was meaningful to organize the forum in Yangzhou, a symbolic city in the history of exchange between the two countries, and that unchanging trust on a private level is important at a time of difficulties in diplomatic relations between the two countries.
  The Korea-China Public Diplomacy Forum was launched to enhance the two peoples’ understanding and awareness of each other in accordance with the agreement made by the two countries’ heads of state at the summit meeting in June 2013. The forum has been held annually and emerged as a solid and cooperative public diplomacy channel.