Public Diplomacy of VANK

朋友 [pengyou]
ともだち [tomodachi]
Friend [frend]
Freund [froynt]
Shamwari [shamwari]
친구 [chin-gu]

We Koreans want to be friends with people all across the five oceans and six continents.

Land size: 0.07% of the world’s total land area.
Population: 1% of the world’s total population

Our country is so small.
How can we make friends with people all over the world?

Big things start small.
Assume that one Korean will make five foreign friends.

Then, 10 Koreans will be able to promote Korea to 50 foreigners. Later, the 50 foreign friends will talk about Korea to their friends. Korea will no longer be just a small country of 70 million people. If all Koreans become public diplomats, the 7 billion people of the world will become friends of Korea.

Soft Power

Strong military or economic power is not enough to win people’s hearts. Soft power is the ability to gain voluntary agreements through good causes and appeals. VANK suggests the following project to enhance Korea’s soft power. Global Network Building Project: 70 million Koreans befriend the 7 billion people of the world.

A friendship between two people enabled the creation of the Suez Canal, the longest canal in the world. The Suez Canal shortened the sea route from the East to the West by connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The canal opened the sea route and allowed people to overcome geographical obstacles. 

Ferdinand de Lesseps, French diplomat 

He gained the full support of his old friend, the King of Egypt. Thanks to his friend’s support, he could overcome all adversity. Their friendship led to the construction of the Suez Canal that connects the East and the West. Likewise, young Koreans want to open paths to the peaceful future by building global friendships.

With Korean public diplomats, Korea’s soft power is ever-growing.
Korean public diplomats are here. We want to show you the charm of Korea.

This is a part of VANK’s public diplomacy project to build global friendships and introduce Korea.
The goal of this project is to reach out to “YOU”!!
Our public diplomats are here to become your friends.

The Oath of Public diplomats

“We swear that we will commit ourselves to building friendships with the 7 billion people of the world and promoting Korea to our best ability”

Responsibilities of Public diplomats

1. You have full authority and responsibility to engage in public diplomacy and establish a ‘friendship agreement’ with foreign friends.

You will try to understand the suffering of your friends’ country from going through colonial rule during the Age of Imperialism. You will listen to the stories of your friends who lost family due to conflict and wars. You will support the future of your friends who lost their dreams due to poverty. Your first responsibility as a public diplomat is to share your friends’ suffering and understand their cultures and traditions.

This is the first stage under the friendship agreement.

2. You have full responsibility to accommodate your friends’ needs during their visit to Korea.

You will help them feel at home so that they will like Korea. 
Regardless of where they are from, approach them with kindness.
You must show a sincere interest in their country.
Most of all, welcome them with a big smile.

“Hello~ Welcome to Korea! I am a member of VANK. I’m interested in your culture and music!”

3. You have full responsibility to begin cultural and language exchanges with your foreign friends to overcome stereotypes about each other.

Show your friends the charm of Korea and the things that you appreciate.
If your friends mention negative aspects of Korea, then respect their opinions.
Talk about those issues, and express your opinions in a mature manner.
Further, you can even discuss other global issues with your friends.

Language and attractions in your friends’ country
Diplomatic relations between Korea and your friends’ country
Other international relationships

Study your friends’ countries and enjoy conversations with your friends. You have responsibility to cooperate with the people of the world to tackle global issues. You will become a global citizen. 4. You have full responsibility to engage in international negotiations to reveal historical distortions and promote accurate Korean history.

Websites
Textbooks
World Maps

Inaccurate information has been spread all over the world. You will have to send messages to concerned publishers and institutions to make corrections. You will have to participate in international negotiations to correct misrepresentations of the East Sea, Dokdo and other historical distortions about Korea.

This is not a simple matter of correcting some information. We will recover our true history and culture that were degraded due to imperialism.  Korea will give hope to other Asian countries that suffered from imperialism.

This is a crucial step to achieving peace in Northeast Asia. With your participation, Korea will no longer be a small country of 70 million people.

When all 70 million Koreans become public diplomats, Korea will become a country of strong diplomacy with the full support of global friends.

VANK encourages our Korean members to become friends with people across the world.
We Korean public diplomats would like to pave paths to peace and make a better world.

Through global friendships, we will also pursue our dreams.

A country that international travelers want to visit
A country that international CEOs want to invest in
A country that everyone in the world wants to live in

Our global friendship will create a better future for Korea. We want to promote Korea as a friend’s country to the people of the world.

As public diplomats, we are here to be your friends.
Let’s build friendships together and make the world a better place.