1. Members of the youth public diplomacy team taking part in the Foreign Ministry’s “people-participated public diplomacy projects in 2017” have successfully carried out public diplomacy projects in the four Visegrad countries (V4) -- the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland -- from August 20 till 28. The projects were designed to promote to citizens of those countries a charming Korea and the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The V4 being Europe’s new growth engines and winter sports powerhouses, the projects in those countries carry special significance as an opportunity to boost youth exchanges with each one of those countries and for the success of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

° The youth public diplomacy group, after holding a launching ceremony in the Czech Republic, made a tour of the V4, conducting various public diplomacy activities. Among those activities were holding flash mob events on public diplomacy; staging street performances of Gukak (traditional Korean music) and K-pop music; promoting Korean culture and the PyeongChang Winter Olympics at such transportational facilities as trams and other major facilities; holding meetings on ways to increase cultural exchanges between the Republic of Korea and the V4; visiting the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, and asking them to support the ROK’s bid to make a success of the PyeongChang event.

2. The group’s launching ceremony in the Czech Republic brought together President Jiri Kejval of the Czech NOC, former Prime Minister Jan Fischer, the ROK’s Ambassador to the country Moon Seoung-hyun, local journalists and some 50 students, who expressed hope for the success of the projects. After the ceremony, the youth public diplomacy group staged along with Czech students in Wenceslas and other squares flash mob performances featuring Hanbok (traditional Korean attire) and Arirang (signature folk song) to the tune of “Hive Five Korea (the official logo song for public diplomacy),” drawing interest of local citizens and tourists. The members of the group, some in PyeongChang Winter Olympics t-shirts and others in Hanbok, toured Prague on trams, promoting the Pyeonchang event to local citizens.

° The youth public diplomacy group also visited the Slovakian NOC, where it was briefed on the country’s plan to participate in the Pyeongchang event and rooted for the Slovakian athletes. In particular, Vice President Zdenko Kriz of the Slovakian NOC who had participated in the Seoul Summer Olympics in 1988, recollecting how impressive the event had been back then, said, “I look forward to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, which the ROK will host in thirty years, and cannot wait to see how different the ROK is from the way it was back then.”

° In Hungary, the local Korean Cultural Center hosted a meeting on ways to boost cultural exchanges between the ROK and Hungary, which the participants in the V4 youth cultural camp 2016 also attended. In the meeting, the students from the two countries drew a common understanding that only when various cultural assets of Hungary, such as movies, music and dances, are promoted to a greater extent in the ROK, facilitating more balanced cultural exchanges between the two countries, will they contribute to the development of the bilateral relations. The group then visited the V4 Secretariat in Hungary, the V4 chair, and was briefed on ROK-V4 exchanges.

° In Warsaw, Poland, the last leg of its V4 tour, the youth public diplomacy group carried out the final round of various promotional programs regarding the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and diverse aspects of Korea. Included in the programs were staging flash mob performances; enjoying with locals such traditional Korean games as Jegichagi (shuttlecock-kicking game) and Tuho (arrows-throwing game); writing Hangeul (Korean alphabet) calligraphy; and putting on Hangeul tattoo stickers. The group also held a “photo-taking with Pyeongchang” event, during which it printed and handed out photos to promote the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

3. The member of the youth public diplomacy group with unique experience as an international referee for luge commented, “I was under pressure as a participant in the V4 projects, but it was nice to be able to communicate with locals in the flash mob events,” adding, “The tour made me see that it is very important for public diplomacy not only to effectively promote our culture but also to make efforts to learn other cultures.”

4. A 23-year-old Polish woman, who took part in the flash mob performance, Tuho, Hangeul calligraphy, and various other programs held in Castle Square, Warsaw, Poland, said, “I have always been keenly interested in Korean culture. It was nice to experience Korean culture first hand for the first time and learn about the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. I really want to visit the country some day.” She did not forget getting a Hangeul calligraphy postcard for her younger sibling.

5. Video clips and photos of the youth public diplomacy group’s major promotional activities in the V4 are available on the official Facebook page of the Foreign Ministry’s Cultural Affairs Bureau. Going forward, the Foreign Ministry will carry out cultural diplomacy in a way that uses soft power and wins hearts of people.


* unofficial translation