KF Resumes Invitation Program for Chinese Youth... First Time in Six Years Since COVID-19 Pandemic

The Korea Foundation (KF) announced on April 21 that it will resume its Korea-China youth exchange program this year. This marks the first time in six years since the program was suspended at the end of 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event, co-hosted by the KF and the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, will take place over six days and five nights from today until April 26 in Seoul and Jeju. A delegation of 54 young representatives from China will visit Korea.

The Korea-China youth exchange program was launched as a follow-up initiative to the 2008 Korea-China summit. Since 2009, more than 3,000 young people from Korea and China have participated in mutual visits. Although the program was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been resumed this year following an agreement between the two countries' leaders last year.

Following last year's visit of a Korean youth delegation to China, this year the Chinese delegation is visiting Korea. Led by Yuan Mindao, Vice President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the group consists of young civil servants from five regions in China: Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Qinghai, and Yunnan Province.

During their stay, the delegation will experience various aspects of Korea's economy and industry through events such as a KF welcome dinner, a welcoming ceremony hosted by an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a meeting with the First Deputy Mayor of Seoul, and visits to the Global Knowledge Cooperation Complex and the Seoul Facilities Corporation's Traffic Management Center. The program will continue in Jeju, where the delegation will meet with the Governor of Jeju, and participate in cultural exchange activities in cooperation with Jeju National University and Jeju Provincial Government.

A KF official stated, "It is meaningful that the Chinese delegation is visiting Korea for the first time in six years," and added, "We hope that youth exchanges will further strengthen cooperation between Korea and China."