Help Us Celebrate Our 60th Anniversary!
The Asia Foundation opened its doors in Insa-dong, Seoul in the aftermath of the Korean War in 1954, months after establishing its headquarters in San Francisco. To celebrate our hwangap, we will hold a series of events during the year, culminating with a celebration dinner on November 13. Mark your calendars!

Korea Office Representative Jack James shakes hands with one of the beneficiaries of Foundation-donated art supplies (1955)

Experts Discuss Facilitating North Korea's Economic Transition in Vietnam
North Korea specialists and government officials from seven countries – Australia, China, Laos, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States, and Vietnam – met in Hanoi, Vietnam on September 5th and 6th to explore lessons from Asia's successful transition economies for North Korea's transition to a more open and prosperous economy (click here for the agenda).

Participants at the Asan-TAF Joint Seminar in Vietnam, September 5-6, 2013

This second of a two-part research seminar was organized by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies and The Asia Foundation, and hosted by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. After an advisory meeting in Seoul in May 2013, the Asan Institute and TAF held the first research seminar in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in July. The first seminar focused on the experiences and lessons of Northeast Asia's transition economies. This second seminar in Hanoi focused on the experiences and lessons of Southeast Asia, as well as China, South Korea and Taiwan's. Selections of the papers presented at the two seminars will be published by the Asan Institute.

Development Specialists Examine Climate Change Responses in Thailand
Climate specialists and government officials from nine countries – Canada, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, the United States, Vietnam – met in Bangkok, Thailand on December 3 and 4 to discuss, "Asian Approaches to Climate Change Response and International Cooperation" (click here for the agenda). The workshop was organized jointly by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) and The Asia Foundation (TAF). In addition to the writer's workshop, participants visited a Thai fishing village and temple to witness the effects of costal erosion and local residents' adaptation efforts. The head of the village explained to participants how she had moved her house inland seven times over the past 30 years.

Participants at the 2013 AADC Writers' Workshop in Bangkok, December 3-4, 2013

The first meeting in Seoul highlighted climate change mitigation, low carbon development, and green growth strategies. In August, the complementary issues of climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and disaster management were discussed in Hoi An, Vietnam. The Bangkok writers' workshop provided a forum for focused discussion on the forthcoming publication, Climate Change Response and International Cooperation: Experiences & Lessons from Asia and the Pacific. The publication, the third volume in the "Asian Approaches to Development Cooperation" publication series, will include chapters on country strategies and international cooperation on climate change mitigation and adaptation. For 2014, KDI and TAF are currently developing a program for a fourth year of the AADC dialogue series which will examine social mobility in Asia.

Field Visit: Workshop participants take a boat to Khun Samut Chin Temple. The temple is now partially submerged due to global warming.

The Asia Foundation Visits North Korea

TAF Vice President Gordon Hein, Books for Asia Director Melody Zavala and Korea Representative Peter Beck in front of the Grand People's Study House, Pyongyang

The Asia Foundation visited Pyongyang in September as a part of TAF's ongoing Books for Asia program to distribute books to North Korean institutions. Vice President Gordon Hein, Books for Asia Director Melody Zavala, and Korea Representative Peter Beck visited a range of academic institutions. The Grand People's Study House, TAF's primary partner and the national library of North Korea, distributes the books to more than 60 institutions, including all provincial libraries. TAF also visited Kim Il-sung University's Medical School Library and the Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies, where they met with faculty, staff and students who showed their appreciation for the books.

TAF inspects donated books at the Grand People's Study House, Pyongyang

Each year TAF sends 12,000 English language college textbooks to over 60 libraries and educational institutions in North Korea. The majority of the donated books are in the fields of science, technology, medicine, economics, business and English-teaching. However, each shipment includes books on a wide range of topics, including literature, philosophy, history, political science, law, sports and the arts. Since 1998, TAF has donated more than 200,000 textbooks. For information about how you can support our Books for Asia program, please contact Program Officer Lee Ji-eun (jelee@asiafound.org).

TAF VP Gordon Hein speaks with students at the Nampo Teachers' College

A Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies student asks the TAF delegation a question.

Bangladesh Parliamentary Delegation Visits Korea
The Asia Foundation and the KDI School co-hosted a 12-day study tour for 15 Bangladeshi Parliamentary Secretariat officials and civil society leaders from October 27 to November 7. The purpose of the fellowship was to learn about Korea's development experience and meet with relevant Korean experts in order to research on capacity building for Bangladesh's parliament. The program is part of the Asia Development Partnership Program.

The Bangladeshi delegation visits the National Assembly, Seoul

The delegation met with a range of government officials, professors, and civil society leaders, such as National Assembly Member (and former TAF grantee) Shin Kyung-min and National Assemblyman Kim Choon-jin, Korean League of Women Voters President Kim Sung-ok, and Korea Civil Society Forum on International Development Cooperation Executive Director Lee Seong-hoon. The delegation also had an opportunity to visit the Busan City Council, Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan and Pohang Iron and Steel to learn about local government and Korea's economic development.

Chinese Legal Reform Delegation Visits Korea
The Asia Foundation Korea hosted a Chinese legal reform delegation from November 24th to 29th. The delegation was composed of professors, researchers and journalists who are undergoing research on Chinese administrative law and the ethics of public officials in accordance with the anti-corruption campaign led by President Xi Jinping. The fellowship provided an opportunity for the delegation to learn about the Korean government's efforts to eradicate corruption through efforts such as the Policy on Government Information Disclosure and Public Officials' Asset Disclosure. The delegation visited a range of government organizations, civil society groups, and research institutes, including the Ministry of Security and Public Administration, People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, Korea's Legislation Research Institute, the provincial government in Jeonju, and former Supreme Court Justice (and TAF grantee) Kim Young-ran.

The Chinese legal delegation meets with former Supreme Court Justice (and TAF grantee) Kim Young-ran

Interview: Korea's Luce Scholar Helps Build a Rehabilitation Device

Luce Scholar Gene Merewether with his team/Courtesy of Chosun Ilbo

Gene Merewether, Korea's 2013-14 Luce Scholar, has helped build a rehabilitation device for a disabled singer at Seoul National University's Bio-robotics Lab. Gene shared with us his inspiring experience working with a team of researchers at Korea's most prestigious university: "I work with the team of SNU Professor Cho Kyu-jin to build robots that adapt to their environment using flexible, compliant materials. Last fall, I had the privilege of working as part of a team to design a rehabilitation device for singer Kim Hyuk-gun of The Cross, a Korean rock band. When we first met him, he told us, "My dream is to be able to sing again." Looking back on the semester I have spent working on this project, the passion in this sentence stuck with me the most. Despite all of the hardships that being a quadriplegic must entail, our patient first and foremost wants to be able to practice the talent he loves and has built his life around.

Due to his injury, our patient lost the ability to control his abdominal muscles. When singing, these muscles help to control the air pressure in his lungs, enabling longer phrases at higher volume. Before we developed our device, our patient relied on a human assistant to press his abdomen to generate the required pressure. Our device applies pressure via a motor-driven belt wrapped around our patient's abdomen. As our patient directs the motor to wind the belt tighter, the force applied to his abdomen by the belt increases. Sharing with our patient the hopes and disappointments of this rehabilitation project has been extremely rewarding for me. Going forward, we plan to develop the device to a point where our singer can use it unaided when singing a wide variety of songs." Gene graduated from Princeton University in 2013 with a degree in Chemistry. Luce Scholars are chosen each year by the Henry Luce Foundation and The Asia Foundation (click here for more information about the fellowship).
Click here to watch video clip about this project.

Kahng Foundation Extends Scholarships for North Korean Women
The Kahng Foundation, led by Silicon Valley entrepreneur and philanthropist Steve Kahng, decided to generously continue the scholarship program for North Korean students at its annual scholarship awards ceremony held on December 14 in Seoul. Started in 2013, the Kahng Foundation Scholarships for North Korean Women help North Korean women, who would not otherwise have the financial means to attend university, to obtain a world-class education at Ewha Womans University, one of the top universities in South Korea. With a university education, the scholarship recipients will be better equipped to secure well-paying jobs and thrive in South Korea. For more information about how to support our scholarship program, please contact Program Officer Lee Ji-eun (jelee@asiafound.org). The students are also receiving scholarships to study English at YBM, the largest and most prestigious English institute in Korea.

Students of Ewha Womans University

Asian Development Fellows Learn About Korean Development Experience
Nguyen Ngoc Luan, from Rural Development Center of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development in Vietnam, recently completed his Korea Asia Development Fellowship at the Korea Rural Economic Institute. Sponsored by the KDI School, Luan has conducted research on "Korea's Experiences with Community and Rural Development."

Nguyen Ngoc Luan with former Korea Representative Edward Reed

Anushka Wijesinha

Anushka Wijesinha, a rising star from the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, finished his fellowship at the Korea Development Institute. His research was on "State Leadership in Industrialization: Korea's Policy Support for SMEs and Relevance to Sri Lanka." Both Luan and Anushka are preparing to publish articles in Korea and their home countries on their research.

Samsung Tablets Boost TAF-KOICA Pilot Project in Sri Lanka
The Asia Foundation has begun using Samsung Tablets for its pilot project with Korea in Sri Lanka. Two years ago, TAF and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) launched a pilot project to strengthen local governments in five cities hit hard by civil war and natural disaster on the east coast of Sri Lanka. Local government leaders are learning how to be more effective administrators by improving tax collection and expanding government services. A key component of that process is providing feedback from local residents about the quality of public services, but paper surveys can take months to complete. In the lovely coastal city of Batticaloa, the process can now be completed in a few weeks thanks to the introduction of 30 Samsung Tablets and a survey application developed by TAF.

The Asia Foundation Korea Reaches Out
Representative Peter Beck spoke at eleven public programs from September to December 2013.

September 16: Daily NK conference on 'Lifting the Fog' September 24: Kyunghee University's Suwon Campus Lecture September 25: Dongguk University Lecture October 10: Yonsei Global Leadership Forum October 12: CITYNET Young Professionals Forum November 5: Asia Corporate Governance Association General Assembly 2013 November 8: Korea-US Club Workshop on "Building on 60 Years of Alliance Sucess"

Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Beppu, Japan, Dec. 8, 2013

• November 19:
  North Korea Database Conference (NKDB)
• November 22:
  NKDB 10th Anniversary Dinner
• December 8:
  Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University International Conference on 'The North Korea Problem from a Regional Perspective'
• December 9:
  Transparency International Korea Branch, Transparent Society Awards Dinner

Staff News
Please join us in welcoming our new interns, Kamala K.C. (Ewha Womans Univeristy), Kurotabi Kenji (Seoul National University and the University of Tokyo), and Zou Yi (Seoul National University). We bid farewell to our program assistant, Lee Sun-joo. She is joining the World Food Program in Rwanda as a Junior Professional Officer. She was a huge help on several projects, including building TAF Korea's Facebook page and organizing the AADC meeting in Thailand. We wish her the very best in her new position! We also bid farewell to Jin Yun-teak (University of California, Los Angeles). Yun-taek helped host our foreign delegations, prepared Powerpoint presentations and expanded our database. Yun-taek is off to undertake his military service.
For information on internships, please visit our webpage:
http://www.asiafoundation.or.kr/html_e/about_07.htm

Read about one of TAF's first English teachers in Korea, Fred Dustin, who has been living in Korea since 1955:
"Jeju's Renaissance Man" Korea Times, January 10, 2014
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/culture/2014/01/135_149561.html

Lee, Hong-koo, "Redefining the community" Korea Joongang Daily, December 31, 2013
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2982772

Lee, Hong-koo, "Bringing focus back to the Koreas" Korea Joongang Daily, November 19, 2013
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2980644

Lee, Hong-koo, "Don't ignore the future" Korea Joongang Daily, October 29, 2013
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2979556

Lee, Hong-koo, "A new political map" Korea Joongang Daily, October 8, 2013
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2978535

Lee, Hong-koo, "Revolt isn't reform" Korea Joongang Daily, September 17, 2013
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2977689

Lee, Hong-koo, "Remembering a liberal realist" Korea Joongang Daily, August 27, 2013
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2976697

Park, Jin, "Beyond 60 Years of ROK-US Alliance" Korea Times, July 25, 2013
http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2013/07/113_139945.html

Park, Jin, "Build stronger ties with Vietnam" Korea Joongang Daily, July 25, 2013
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2977196

[Feature] Park, Jin, "'Bibimbap' for 12,013 servings mixed for 'Hansik Day'" Korea Times, October 23, 2013
http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/culture/2013/10/135_144836.html