1. The launching ceremony of the second “Junior Public Diplomacy Group” will take place at the Foreign Ministry on July 11, with Second Vice Minister Cho Tae-yul in attendance. The Foreign Ministry formed the “Junior Public Diplomacy Group” as part of “public diplomacy in partnership with the people,” which is one of the Park Geun-hye government’s policy tasks.

2. A total of 410 youngsters submitted applications to join the second “Junior Public Diplomacy Group” to the Foreign Ministry from June 5 to 29. Fifty members of the Group were finally selected, including through the first stage of paper screening and the second stage of interview.

o The members of the Group, finally selected at the odds of about 1 in 8, include 45 Koreans and 5 foreigners, 11 of whom male and 39 female. Five foreigners are from the US, Japan, China and France.

3. Among the members of the Group is Fabien Yves Jerome Corbineau (Korean name: Choi Yoon), an entertainer from France appearing on many local TV shows these days. Fabien will be appointed as an honorary member of the Group and participate in the Group’s activities. The Foreign Ministry will present a letter of appointment to him at the launching ceremony on July 11.

o Fabien, who was a member of the French national Taekwondo team, has a keen interest in all areas of Korean culture. He is known to have accepted the offer of honorary membership to promote a positive image of Korea among foreigners.

4. In addition to the “Junior Public Diplomacy Group” project, the Foreign Ministry will continue to work to help Korean people unleash their capability in realizing the vision of “building a charming Korea trusted by the global community” by developing and conducting a range of public diplomacy projects in partnership with the people, including youngsters.


               Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

*unofficial translation