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🇰🇷 South Korea /Culture & Society

South Korea Seeks North Korean Participation in Jeju Forum

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Ongoing story
  • South Korea's Foreign Ministry is attempting to invite North Korean officials to the Jeju Forum, an international academic conference scheduled for June 24-26.
  • If successful, a North Korean official could participate virtually in a session on education, marking a rare instance of inter-Korean exchange within an international event since North Korea defined relations as between 'hostile states'.
  • The participation of the North Korean official is not yet confirmed, and the Unification Ministry has processed the necessary contact notification.

The Jeju Forum, an international academic conference co-hosted by South Korea's Foreign Ministry and Jeju Province, is actively seeking to include North Korean participants. The forum, which runs from June 24-26, has extended an invitation to Dr. Jang Kwang-chol, head of the education policy division at UNESCO's Policy and Lifelong Learning Section.

If Dr. Jang accepts, he would join a session on 'UNESCO and the Future of Education: Challenges and Prospects' via video conference on June 26. This would mark the first time a North Korean individual participates in the Jeju Forum. Such an engagement could also represent a significant inter-Korean exchange within an international framework, particularly following North Korea's recent redefinition of inter-Korean relations as those between 'hostile states.' This follows a precedent set last month when a North Korean women's football team visited South Korea for a match.

(The forum organizers) have submitted the notification for contact with North Korean residents, and (the Unification Ministry) has accepted it.

— Unification Ministry officialExplaining the process for inviting a North Korean official to the Jeju Forum.

However, the participation of Dr. Jang remains uncertain. A Unification Ministry official noted that the forum organizers have submitted the necessary notification for contact with North Korean residents, which has been accepted. "Whether Dr. Jang will attend has not yet been decided, and we will have to wait and see," the official stated. Currently, UNESCO has not informed of any changes to the participant list.

Dr. Jang is an education specialist with extensive experience at UNESCO, including roles as acting director of UNESCO's West Africa and Sahel regional offices and as a senior program specialist in its Asia-Pacific regional office. He has developed various educational programs focusing on the right to education, policy analysis, and early childhood care and education. Prior to joining UNESCO, he worked for North Korea's Ministry of Education and holds a doctorate in education from Kim Hyong Jik University of Education.

Whether Dr. Jang will attend has not yet been decided, and we will have to wait and see.

— Unification Ministry officialCommenting on the uncertainty of North Korean participation in the Jeju Forum.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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