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THE ASIA FOUNDATION IN KOREA
Announcements
SAVE THE DATE: April 11, 2016 at 6:30pm
The Friends of The Asia Foundation Korea will host its annual reception on Monday, April 11, 2016 (6:30pm). Invitations will be sent out as the date approaches. Please mark your calendars!
Highlights
2015 Northeast Asia Mayors' Forum in Mongolia
Mayors, heads of delegations and representatives from six NE Asian nations (China, Japan, North Korea, Mongolia, Russia, and South Korea) gathered in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on September 21-22, 2015 to share experiences in implementing appropriate green growth strategies and policies at the municipal level. This second meeting of its kind, co-organized by the City of Ulaanbaatar, The Asia Foundation, and Zorig Foundation, concluded with a joint statement by the participants that was delivered by Ulaanbaatar Mayor Bat-Uul Erdene at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference in December.
Asia Foundation country representatives Meloney Lindberg (Mongolia) and Dylan Davis (Korea) spoke as part of the Forum with Ulaanbaatar Mayor Bat-Uul and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon. Excerpts from their conversations can be found in the following In Asia blog piece published following the meeting.
The Asia Foundation-KDI School Jakarta Conference Explores 60 Years of South-South Cooperation
On October 28 and 29, government officials, policy specialists, and development experts representing more than 13 countries convened in Indonesia for the 13th meeting of the Asian Approaches to Development Cooperation Dialogue, an ongoing series designed to address the development prospects and challenges facing the region.
The Jakarta conference focused on strategies to advance 21st century South-South Cooperation from the provider country perspective. More specifically, it explored how the definition of SSC is evolving, how SSC is managed and governed, and how SSC is addressing global priorities such as the Sustainable Development Goals.
2015 marks the 60th anniversary of the historic 1955 Asia-Africa Conference, in Bandung, Indonesia, which laid the foundations for the cooperation and solidarity which underpins South-South Cooperation today.
5th Year TAF-KDI Authors' Workshop for Publication on Advancing South-South Cooperation
Development specialists met in Seoul, Korea on December 9th -10th to discuss working papers on, "Advancing South-South Cooperation." The Seoul authors' workshop was organized jointly by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) and The Asia Foundation, and provided a forum for focused discussion on a forthcoming publication that draws from the past year's dialogues in Jakarta and Phnom Penh.
TAF-KDI School Study Tour on Urban Climate Change Resilience
The Asia Foundation Korea office and TAF Environment Program jointly organized a 7-day study tour in Korea on urban climate change resilience for participants from four Asian countries. The November 1-8 study tour, funded by the Korea Development Institute School of Public Policy and Management (KDI School) and implemented by The Asia Foundation, drew upon the country's emerging expertise in this area, leading participants through national, provincial, and municipal policy, planning and administrative infrastructures Korea has developed in response to the emerging threat of climate change. Bangladesh, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, were well represented in the program, with participation from government, think tanks, academia and NGOs in these four countries.
Korea is emerging as a regional leader in climate change planning and response within Asia, actively integrating environmental and climate change related priorities into development planning and implementation at all levels of government. These advances were especially visible in the Seoul city and Jeju provincial governments, where green growth, environmental protection, and climate change resilience are well integrated into respective policies, planning, and agency administrative structures and systems. The group also met with think tanks and research institutions, private sector organizations, and NGOs, all of whom play a vibrant role in the country's climate change resilience strategy.
Participant feedback indicated a heightened appreciation for the necessity of strong political leadership to facilitate real change at each level of government, as well as the political/multi-stakeholder dynamics necessary to build political will to elect such leadership and support that leadership through long-term change. Government-sponsored think tanks-capable of providing unbiased analyses on climate vulnerabilities and associated policy options-were likewise seen to be an important element in promoting effective action in Korea.
Asia Development Fellows Learn about Korea's Development Experience
Two fellows from Bangladesh and Laos successfully completed research in Korea through the Asia Development Fellowship Program, a program in its eighth year sponsored by KDI School.
Mr. Mahboob Murshed, an advocate with the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, completed his seven-week fellowship (July 21 to September 6, 2015) at Korea University Law School's Cyber Law Centre where he was able to conduct a research project titled, "A Comparative Analysis between Bangladeshi and Korean Legal Frameworks for Combating Cybercrime to Ensure Cyber Security." Appreciating the obtained professional knowledge on international and Korean cyber law during his fellowship, Mr. Mahboob noted: "Korea is the world's most advanced country in terms of ICT development, which has allowed the country to achieve substantial progress in developing a balanced legal framework to combat cybercrime." Korea's solid institutional framework to implement and manage cyber laws were noted in his research. Mr. Mahbobb further noted that "Bangladesh has yet to build this kind of institutional framework," and plans to recommend the establishment of a similar system to better manage the development and implementation of cyber security law upon returning to Bangladesh.
Mr. Souphy Norintha, Deputy Director in the Legal Affairs Department of the Laos Ministry of Justice, successfully completed research focused on "Legislative Processes in Korea" as part of his three-month fellowship (August 23 to November 18, 2015) at the Korean Institute of Legislative Studies. Compared to a relatively short history since Laos began developing a legal system in 1989, Mr. Souphy was impressed to compare the Laos experience to that of Korea's. Mr. Norintha noted, "Law making procedures in Korea seem much simpler and faster than many other countries, most likely as a result of Korea's development in the ICT sector and use of technology in the process of creating laws." He highly recommends that Korea continue to share its experience using technology in the legislative process with other developing countries.
KDI School-Asia Foundation Asian Development Fellows Alumni Reunion
After eight years of a successful partnership between KDI School and The Asia Foundation, nearly half of the 111 alumni of the Asian Development Fellows Program gathered to share experiences and update each other on activities since participating in the program. The Asia Foundation will continue to organize networking opportunities for the group in the future.
The Asia Foundation Meets with Senior Korean Officials
TAF's Senior Vice President of Programs Gordon Hein visited Korea from December 8-11 to participate in an Authors' Workshop on Advancing South-South Cooperation. During his visit, Dr. Hein and Korea Country Representative Dylan Davis met with a range of senior Korean officials, including KOICA President Kim Young-mok and Korea Foundation President Yu Hyun-seok. During the meeting with KOICA, both organizations expressed an interest in expanding cooperation since the establishment of an institutional partnership between KOICA and TAF in June 2015.
Launch of "Let's Read" Cambodia
"Let's Read!," a project initiated through The Asia Foundation's Books for Asia Program, brings together Asian publishers, technologists, and education organizations to make local-language storybooks available to schools and community libraries through a tablet-based reading platform. Thanks to a number of early supporters, including Air Busan, who purchased tablet computers for the project, a pilot program was successfully launched in Cambodia in November. "Let's Read" is expanding to Mongolia thanks to support of Booyoung Corporation. More on "Let's Read Mongolia" to come following the launch of the program in February!
New Publication! America's Role in Asia: The Implications of America's Rebalancing Policy to Asia published
The 60th Anniversary of The Asia Foundation was commemorated with a series of events held in Seoul, Korea, on November 6, 2014, including a roundtable titled, "America's Role in Asia: The Implications of America's Rebalancing Policy to Asia," which was cohosted by The Asia Foundation Korea Office in conjunction with the Friends of The Asia Foundation Korea (FOTAF). The speeches and presentations given during those events were recently reproduced in a report jointly published by The Asia Foundation and Korean-American Association, and is available for download at http://asiafoundation.org/publications/pdf/1530
TAF Korea Reaches Out
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November 24: Talk at a joint KOICA/Asia Pacific Women's Alliance for Peace and Security (APWAPS) Workshop
Dylan Davis, Korea Country Representative, gave a talk on promoting gender equality and women's leadership for peace and security at a joint KOICA/Asia Pacific Women's Alliance for Peace and Security workshop.
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November 23-24: TAF Discusses South-South Cooperation at the Second Busan Global Partnership
The Asia Foundation recently partnered with the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre to share various initiatives focusing on the quality of South-South Cooperation at the Second Annual Busan Global Partnership Forum in Korea. Anthea Mulakala, Director of International Development Cooperation at The Asia Foundation, chaired the session. Representatives of governments, and project partners from civil society organizations and think tanks discussed the lessons learnt from the assessment and evaluation of South-South Cooperation (SSC) at the Forum.
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Program Officer Sunmee Lee co-authored an In Asia article on Korea's Leadership in Climate Action, which highlighted a recent four-country study tour to Korea organized by The Asia Foundation focusing on urban climate change resilience.
Articles by Friends of The Asia Foundation Korea
Han, Sung-joo, "Nuclear North Korea: A Reassessment," Digital KBS News, January 8, 2016
http://news.kbs.co.kr/news/view.do?ncd=3212249&ref=A
Han, Sung-joo, "Active Support from US is required for Peaceful Reunification," Yonhap News, November 13, 2015
http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2015/11/13/0200000000AKR20151113093800014.HTML?input=1195m
Han, Sung-joo, "President Park's Visit to China will Help Persuad China into Agreeing upon THAAD Deployment," Yonhap News, September 10, 2015
http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2015/09/10/0200000000AKR20150910019800071.HTML?input=1195m
Hong, Seok-hyun, "South Korea should take an Leading Role in the Relationship between North Korea," CNB News, December 17, 2015
http://www.cnbnews.com/news/article.html?no=313323
Kim, Jin-hyun, "Korea's Ranking in World Peace Index will Rise to 20's if Conflict between South and North Korea Gets Resolved," The Munhwa Ilbo, December 15, 2015
http://www.munhwa.com/news/view.html?no=2015121501070909043001
Kim, Jin-hyun, "Conflict in Korean Society Should be solved through Integrative Approach," Segye Ilbo, September 08, 2015
http://www.segye.com/content/html/2015/09/08/20150908005235.html
Lee, Hong-koo, "Reinforcing citizens' role," Korea JoongAng Daily, December 14, 2015
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3003342
Lee, Hong-koo, "Into the peace orbit," Korea JoongAng Daily, November 24, 2015
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3011939
Lee, Hong-koo, "Korea's diplomatic challenges," Korea JoongAng Daily, November 03, 2015
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3011077
Lee, Hong-koo, "Systemizing the division," Korea JoongAng Daily, September 15, 2015
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3009213
Our Members and Partners
The Korea Office and programs of The Asia Foundation are supported by the Foundation's general funds as well as by our partners in Korea. Our generous partners and supporters include government organizations, institutes, private corporations, foundations, and individuals. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Ms. Bang Min, External Relations Officer, at min.bang@asiafoundation.org.
Corporate Partners
Donors contributing W25 million and above can become official partners of The Asia Foundation. Partners can provide either unrestricted funds or support for specific projects. Our corporate partners include:
 BOOYOUNG
 Sungkok Journalism Foundation
 YBM
Corporate Members
Donors contributing W10 million can become official members of The Asia Foundation. Unrestricted funds members provide are used to support ongoing activities ranging from research to program activities and outreach. These funds also provide support for new initiatives. Our corporate members include:
 Air Busan
 New Paradigm Institute
 Korean-American Association
Other Sponsors of Asia Foundation Korea Programs
 KDI School of Public Policy and Management
 Korea Development Institute
 Korea International Cooperation Agency
 The Asan Institute for Policy Studies
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