KOREA FOUNDATION

The 25th Korea-Japan Forum was held in Seoul on August 28–30, co-sponsored by the KF and the Japan International Cooperation Center (JICE). The theme of this year’s conference was “Building a New Korea-Japan Relationship.”
  The forum was originally conceived as a follow-up to the Korea-Japan Summit in Gyeongju, Korea, in 1993, and it has convened every year since, with the venue alternating between the two countries. As a high-level, non-governmental dialogue channel, it has grown into its role as an important organization where key figures of diverse sectors discuss bilateral issues.
  During the 25th meeting, delegates from the two neighboring countries engaged in heated discussion over security in Northeast Asia, the political situations in Korea and Japan, and economic cooperation between the two countries. In a subsequent ceremony, the Korea-Japan Forum Award was conferred upon Choi Seo-myun, chairman of the International Korea Research Institute, making him the second such recipient of the prize. Choi established the Tokyo Korea Research Institute in the 1970s, at a time when expert understanding of Korea was in short supply in Japan, and bilateral ties were particularly strained. Through these achievements, he has greatly contributed to stabilizing Korea-Japan relations.
  The results of the August forum will be delivered to the governments and related institutions of both countries with the aim of facilitating smoother bilateral communication.