December 6, 2024 – The Asia Foundation Korea Office hosted Personal Initiative (PI) Training for North Korean refugee entrepreneurs on November 23-25, 2024.

* PI training model was originally developed to support East Germans to adapt market economy after the unification. Participants showed a 30% profit increase and 2.7 times more profitability than traditional training models (Source: Journal of Science).

The training was led by Hayul Lim (CEO, Solemaman), Jihye Yoon (CEO, Endless), and Jiwoo Park (CEO, In Good Company) who have successfully managed their businessesafter participating in PI Training hosted by The Asia Foundation in 2022.

After the opening remarks from Dr. Kyungjin Song, Country Representative of The Asia Foundation Korea, the participants actively engaged in discussions and case studies, building personal initiative traits represented by self-starting, future thinking, and overcoming barriers.

               

Moreover, successful North Korean refugee entrepreneurs were invited to share their entrepreneurial experiences and advice with the participants in a candid manner.

Jaemyung Lee, Associate Program Officer, The Asia Foundation, who managed the workshop, plans to further provide support for the participants through 1:1 consultations and tailored activities.