1. On September 18, Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with a delegation from the Japan-Korea Cultural Foundation (head of the delegation: President Fumio Sameshima), which has worked to enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges in the private sector between the two countries. The two sides exchanged views on ways to expand exchanges between the ROK and Japan.

o Vice Minister Cho took note of the activities of the Foundation, which, since its creation in 1983, has conducted about 1,200 exchanges programs for around 30 years, including exchange programs between youngsters and university students and fellowships for Korean intellectuals. He asked the Foundation to continue to work to facilitate the bilateral exchanges in the private sector.

o President Sameshima said that the Foundation, especially its executives, will do its best to contribute significantly to the development of the ROK-Japan relations, and that the Foundation will work together with relevant Korean organizations to strengthen public diplomacy between the two countries.

2. Regarding creating jobs overseas, Vice Minister Cho asked for the Foundation’s interest and cooperation to find ways to help more Korean youth work in Japan, and agreed to continue to consult on possible ways to do so.

o Considering the high demands for exchange programs for undergraduates between the two countries, the delegation from the Foundation asked the ROK side to consider increasing the number of participants in the programs. Vice Minister Cho said that the ROK will work to devise ways to do so.

3. Vice Minister Cho and the delegation shared the view that there is great potential for bilateral exchanges and cooperation in sport, given that the ROK will host the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games in 2018, and Japan is making efforts to host the 2026 Winter Olympics in Sapporo.

o In particular, the delegation from the Foundation said that the Foundation will work to help the ROK host a safe and successful PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games.

4. The Foreign Ministry will continue to pay attention to and provide cooperation on the Foundation’s activities to enhance mutual understanding between the people of the two countries and advance the ROK-Japan friendly and cooperative relations, including exchange programs for the next generation and intellectuals.


* unofficial translation