First Appointment of Foreign Advisory Board Members for the War Memorial Project
Nevil Jay Manaois, a professor at Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, is a historian who has researched the participation of the Philippines in the Korean War. Since 2006, he has been actively conducting research and presenting at international conferences on this subject. At the suggestion of the Ministry of Personnel Management, he is serving as a member of the International Advisory Board at the War Memorial Project, providing materials he has collected during his research to the Korean War archive project and offering related consultation.
The government is discovering internationally recognized overseas experts on the Korean War to promote the preservation of war records and strengthen public diplomacy.
On the 24th, the Ministry of Personnel Management announced that from June last year to the present, it has selected 26 members of the War Memorial Project's International Advisory Board (KWO) through its "Global Talent Discovery Project."
The composition of the War Memorial Project's International Advisory Board was carried out by the Ministry of Personnel Management directly discovering and recommending talents with global capabilities and expertise through the Global Talent Discovery Project.
The Ministry of Personnel Management discovered internationally recognized researchers through various channels, including participation in international academic conferences, researchers at local archives and universities, and registration in the national talent database.
As a result, 17 out of the 57 international advisory board members of the War Memorial Project were composed of global talents recommended by the Ministry of Personnel Management, and 9 additional members are currently undergoing the appointment process.
In June last year, the ministry discovered 7 experts from UN member countries that participated in the Korean War, contributing to the appointment of the first foreign advisory board members through the talent discovery project. In total, 17 foreign scholars and researchers from 11 countries were appointed as advisory board members. This year, the ministry has expanded its talent search to Eastern European countries, recommending and involving additional researchers, thereby contributing to the recruitment of international talents to strengthen public diplomacy.
Kim Gunho, curator at the War Memorial Project Archive Center, said, "We will actively cooperate with the Ministry of Personnel Management to discover overseas talents who research and collect materials on the gradually forgotten Korean War, so that we can realize the value of national defense and veterans affairs."
The appointed advisory board members are recognized authorities in their respective fields, such as war records, preservation, and peace studies, from UN member countries and Eastern European nations. They are working with the goals of re-examining the global historical significance of the Korean War, establishing an international cooperation archival system, and building consensus within the international community. As the 75th anniversary of the Korean War is marked this year, their activities are expected to play a key role in sharing the global memory of the war and passing on its value to future generations through public diplomacy.
Lee Eunyoung, Director of Talent Information Planning, stated, "We plan to continue expanding the institutional foundation that enables professional talents from around the world to contribute to government activities, and to further strengthen our network of cooperation with the international community."
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