About 120 years ago …

Imperialism was sweeping through the world.

The Japanese government was armed with superior military power.

Japan went after Korea’s diplomatic rights.

It began lobbying the Western powers and laying the groundwork.

In 1895, Japan killed Empress Myeongseong.

The queen actively engaged in diplomatic activities to protect Korea.

In 1904, Japan forced Korea to sign a protocol to use Korea as a logistics base.

In the same year, Japan also forced Korea to sign “the Japan-Korea Agreement” to allow Japanese intervention in Korea’s domestic affairs.

Japan took further action to suppress the influence of world opinion on its military campaign against Korea.
 
Japan waged the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War.

With its victory in both wars, Japan increased its influence over Korea.

In 1905, Japan coerced Emperor Gojong and the cabinet into signing the Eulsa Protectorate Treaty.

Japan deprived Korea of its diplomatic rights and recalled Korean diplomats.

Despite Japan’s pressure, Gojong secretly engaged in diplomatic activities.

Have you heard of the Special Korean envoys to The Hague?

Special envoys to The Hague
In 1907, Gojong appointed Yi Jun, Yi Sang-Seol and Yi Wi-Jong to a secret delegation.

The delegation had to bypass Japan’s surveillance.

The mission of the delegation was to attend the Second Hague Peace Conference in the Netherlands.

It was Gojong’s desperate attempt to expose the illegitimacy of the Eulsa Protectorate Treaty to the world.

For the crucial mission, the delegation travelled far to get to the Netherlands.

The Peace Conference was an event for world leaders to gather to discuss peace.

Gojong hoped the delegation would get a chance to appeal to the world.

His goal was to reveal that the Eulsa Protectorate Treaty was forced upon him against his will.

He wanted to invalidate the treaty by exposing the illegitimacy of the process.

The delegation made every effort to attend the conference as representatives of Korea. 

They asked many other national leaders for help.

Japan soon noticed their efforts and began sabotaging the delegation. 

The conference accepted Japan’s position that Korea no longer had diplomatic rights.

The delegation was rejected for admission and the right to speak at the conference.

Following the rejection, they sent letters to the delegates of each nation to prove their position as qualified delegates.

On July 9, they managed to attend a press conference hosted by British journalist William T. Stead.

There they made a speech, “A Plea for Korea.”

They described the wrongdoing of Japan and the situation in Korea, and many foreign media covered their story.

However, world politics was dominated by imperialistic powers.
They failed to gain concrete results.

During their efforts, Yi Jun suddenly died on July 14.

The rest of the delegation grieved the loss.

Their mission ended in failure.

Japan accused Gojong of sending a delegation without their permission.

On July 19, 1907, Japan deposed Gojong.

On August 22, 1910, Japan created the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty, which officially turned Korea into a colony.

Korea became a logistics base to support the Japanese invasion of other Asian countries. 
Special envoys to The Hague
Their failure did not just end with Korea’s loss of sovereignty.

The Manchurian Incident (1931)
The Sino-Japanese War (1937)
The Pacific War (1941)

Japan took the lives of many innocent people in other countries, using Korea as its base.

The efforts of the Hague delegation slowly faded into the shadows of history.

However, there still are 21st century Hague special envoys.

On September 26, 2012, Japanese Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko delivered a speech to the United Nations General Assembly.

In his speech, he attempted to gain international support for their position on Dokdo and the Diaoyu Island.

He argued for the need for cooperation on these territorial issues.

Specifically, he asked to bring the issues to the International Court of Justice.

The Prime Minister, as the representative of Japan, asserted his opinion on its territorial right over Dokdo in an international public sphere.

That is an utter denial of Korea’s complete independence and sovereignty.

Even before the annexation of Korea, Japan took control of Dokdo in 1905.

For Koreans, Dokdo is a symbol of the Japanese colonial rule that soon followed. 

Japan’s claim over Dokdo is not a simple denial of Korea’s full sovereignty.

It also means the revival of Japan’s imperialism in the 21st century.

Please help us inform the world that Dokdo is a symbol of Japanese imperialism.

You can be a 21st century Hague special envoy.  

Do you know there are 21st century Hague special envoys even in Japan?

Nobel literature laureate Kenzaburo Oe and 1,270 Japanese intellectuals

On September 28, 2012, they made a civic statement.

“To the Korean people, Dokdo is a symbol of Japanese aggression and colonial rule … Japan should reflect on its historical issues.”

“Japan annexed Dokdo at a time when Korea was the weakest and had no way to make a diplomatic demand.”

“The people of Japan must understand that Dokdo is not simply an island to Korea, but a starting point and symbol for invasion and colonial rule.”

They called on the Japanese government to seriously reflect on its annexation of Dokdo.

Japanese novelist Murakami Haruki also made a public remark on September 28 in the Asahi Newspaper.

“In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler solidified the basis for his power by trumpeting the recovery of lost territory.”

“We are aware what outcome this brought about.”

“We should not let territorial issues block people’s interaction.”

Murakami recognizes that Japan’s claim of sovereignty over Dokdo dampens its cultural exchanges with other Asian countries.

As these examples indicate, there are Japanese people who understand the importance of Japan’s self-reflection on history.

Like the Korean special envoys to The Hague in the 1900s, they are trying to remind the Japanese people of Japan’s past aggression toward Asia.

There are 21st century Hague special envoys even in Europe, opposing the revival of Japanese imperialism.

“Japan’s claim over Dokdo can only be seen as a form of expansionism.”
- El Mundo, a leading Spanish daily newspaper (September 25, 2012)

“Conflict over Dokdo is rooted in deeper issues.”

“Japan has never fully taken responsibility for its wrongdoings against Korea.”
- L’Express, French weekly news magazine

“Japan’s reluctance to reflect on history plays an important role in its territorial disputes with China and Korea.”

“Japan, like Germany, was the aggressor in the Second World War. It should carefully reflect on its war history.”
- Deutschlandradio, a German public radio broadcaster

“There is a real reason behind Japan’s repeated conflicts with its neighbors.”

“Japan has never made an effort to face up to its wartime crimes.”
- Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), a German center-left newspaper

“Japan has shown no leadership in Asia.”

“It has also been seen to behave with a stunning lack of conscience of its past atrocities.”
- A letter to Financial Times (UK) by Dr. Jean-Pierre Lehmann

Many major media outlets are speaking up like 21st century Hague special envoys.

They all criticize the revival of Japanese imperialism.

Of course, there are 21st century Hague special envoys in Korea.

As in October 2012, VANK has 100 thousand Korean members.

Our mission is to train them to be 21st century Hague special envoys to stop the revival of Japanese imperialism.

We hope they will act as peacemakers and lead historical reconciliation in Asia.

Exploitation of resources
Slaughter of civilians
Forced conscriptions
Military sex slaves (“comfort women”)
Torture and abuse

The incorporation of Dokdo was only the beginning of many other tragedies.

We should stop the revival of Japanese imperialism that has already taken numerous innocent lives.

Our primary goal is to lead reconciliation and keep the peace in Asia. 

Here, VANK speaks to the 7 billion people of the world.

Dokdo is a symbol of Japanese imperialism.

We will work hard to prevent the repeat of such tragedies in the world.

We will promote the fact that Dokdo is not just a small part of Korean territory, but also a symbol of our national pride. 

It will take time to fully recover from the damage that was caused during the Japanese occupation, but we will succeed.

Many Asian countries, like Korea, are still suffering from the lingering legacy of imperialism.

The history of imperialism is the deep root of many territorial and historical conflicts in Asia.

Young Koreans pursue becoming peacemakers for peace in Asia.

We will lead Asia to the path of peace.

Together, we will build lasting peace in the world. 

Minister Kim Sung-Hwan and Gitae Park, Director of VANK signed MOU.

Minister Kim spoke why he decided to sign MOU with VANK and what he expects through this co-operated project.

Director Park said how he started VANK and what he also expects through this project with MOFAT.

30 VANK school club leaders participated the ceremony.

After the ceremony, all participants had snacks together. Minister Kim is speaking with VANK’s international interns from Rwanda and Taiwan.

MOFAT prepared short visit tour for VANK’s members and researchers.

Here are all VANK’s researchers and interns.

VANK and MOFAT will appoint 500 middle and high school students as Honorary Digital Diplomat who will represent Korea to the world as public diplomatic envoy in the National Museum of Korea.

Here are time table of that day: 
10:30~10:32 Announcement of opening
10:32 Congratulatory Message by a director of VKC
10:35~10:55 Awards ceremony of 5th Ambassadors
10:55~11:10 Introduction to activities of 5th Ambassadors
11:10~11:30 Presentations of 5th Ambassadors
11:30~12:30 Lunch time
12:30~13:20 Lecture 1: Youth Korean! Be a challenger! by Gitae Park(Director of VANK)
13:20~14:00 Introduction to VKC by Han Hyeon-suk(VKC)
14:10~15:00 Global Etiquette by Kim Eun-hee(VKC)
15:00~15:30 How to introduce Korea by storytelling by Lee Jung-Ae(Researcher of VANK)
15:40~16:10 Korea in the world by Lim Hyeon-suk(Researcher of VANK) 

Around 10:30 am, many people came to the hall. Many students lined up in front of hall. All participants recieved special package which consists of printed materials of VANK and VKC.

Kim Hyeon-jun(VKC) opened ceremony with welcoming messages for college students and guests at 10:30 am.

A director of VKC awarded excellent Honorary Ambassadors of fifth term with gold medals and certificates. About 30 students were appinted as GHAK officially.

All winners gathered with directors of VANK and VKC. Please celebrate their awards.

Kim Sae-bom, a researcher of VANK, is giving a presentation of activities of Honorary Ambassadors of fifith term. We believe that many candidates of Honorary Ambassadors of sixth term was inspired by her presentation and activities.

Kim Do-yeon, Honorary Ambassador, gave a prensentation about her activities.

Lim Sol-bin, Honorary Ambassador, also gave a presentation about his activities.

After lunch time, the director of Park Gi-tae gave a lecture to students. He told his experiences how and why he founded VANK. And he said what students do for themselves and Korea.

Second lecture was given by Han Hyeon-suk, a manager of VKC about VKC and how to introduce Korea to foreigners.

Lee Jung-ae, a researcher of VANK, gave a lecture how to introduce Korea by storytelling. She presented her trip to Africa and her own know-hows that she gained during last 10 years of activities at VANK.

The last lecture was given by Lim Hyeon-suk, a researcher of VANK. She presented what people in the world know about Korea, distorted or wrong information on Korea from different kinds of media, such as websites, textbooks, applications and etc.

Ok Da-hye and Woo Yeon-take gave short presentation about their activities as VANK members. They are curently working in VANK office as volunteer interns.

All candidates gathered at the stage and flew paper plane which candidates wrote down their dreams on it together. We hope that all dreams of candidates will come true in the future.

VANK’s New Dream, Korea Becomes a Friend of Africa.

AFRICA
The continent of the world’s poorest countries

The continent of malaria and AIDS
The land of never-ending conflict and war
The world’s most dangerous destination

Africans have suffered from the lingering legacy of long colonial rule.
The black continent of Africa has lost hope.

One day, VANK received a special invitation from Africa.

“Please come to Zimbabwe, and give hope to young people here!” 
“I hope to initiate cultural exchanges between the youth of Korea and Zimbabwe.”
“Such exchanges will encourage Africans to build a better future.”
- From Lew Kwang-chul, Korean ambassador to Zimbabwe

Here began VANK’s African dream. We went on a trip to Zimbabwe for 10 days.

Zimbabwe, a spectacular ‘kingdom of animals’

Zimbabwe hosts the Victoria Falls, one of the world’s three most remarkable waterfalls.

Glorious history and culture
‘The Great Zimbabwe’
Beautiful nature and abundant natural resources

However, the international image of Zimbabwe is quite different.
AIDS, corruption, poverty, starvation, and malaria
Zimbabwe seems to have no hope for the future.

It still suffers from the wounds of exploitation and oppressive rule during the imperialist era. Its proud history had been forgotten in the hearts of young Zimbabweans. We went there to start a friendship with them. 

Zimbabwean traditional dance, Korean traditional fan dance

African children wrote their wishes on paper airplanes.
We wrote about our dream of becoming their supportive friends. 

We became one during a group circle dance. Korea and Zimbabwe became friends that will support each other.

After becoming their friends, we started seeing hope in Africa. 
Africa occupies 20% of the world’s total land area.
It is a vast land of potential and opportunities to realize many new dreams.

A billion people, one seventh of the world’s population, live in Africa.
It is a large enough group of people to bring great changes to the world. 

The world is turning to Africa for ‘abundant natural resources’.

Around 60% of Africa’s population is under the age of 24.
Africa is a continent of youth and a healthy future.
Africa is a vibrant continent that has great natural resources and traditions.

We realized that Africa is not a black continent with a dark future.
Africa is a continent of hope with boundless potential.
Korea doesn’t want to just be an aid donor to Africa.

We want to help them break the widespread stereotypes of Africa.

We want to become Africa’s true friends, and help them create its new international images. Korea overcame the legacy of Japanese imperialism and the devastation of the Korean War.

Koreans brought Korea to the center of Asia. Korea is a good example for Africa, who suffered from western imperialism.  Africans are now pursuing to change negative images of Africa.

Please guide us with your experience of promoting Korea to the world for the last 10 years.
- Joice Mujuru, Vice President of Zimbabwe

Promise of friendship between Korea and Zimbabwe
‘Friends of Africa, Korea Project’

For the last ten years, VANK and its Korean members have promoted Korea to the world. VANK promised to support Zimbabwe’s effort to promote Africa’s potential to the world.

Our promise was publicized to the people of the country through Zimbabwean newspapers.

‘Friends of Africa, Korea Project’

As their friends, we will help them combat negative stereotypes of Africa. Our promise was a seed of hope! What we will do goes beyond economic support. Through the internet, we will build friendships with Africans.We will help our African friends promote their culture and tourist assets to the world.

Our effort will prove the power of citizens’ public diplomacy. We believe that encouragement and support are the best ways to help Africans.

Africans will soon start dreaming again of a new and better Africa.

VANK will be a friend of Africa.  Now we begin a new project to support our new friend. Let’s begin our new project, Friends of Africa, Korea Project.

We found our African dream in Zimbabwe. We will help our African friends have a better future. As a friend of Korea, Africa will no longer be a hopeless black continent. Africa will reborn as a hopeful continent of new opportunities.

Open your eyes to the new Africa. Share their emotions.

Please extend your hand to Africa, and help them promote the new Africa.

With VANK, you will achieve the African dream.
You will be world changers!

Click here to participate!