ESG Policy Recommendations to the Next President of South Korea

February 18, 2022 – Impact for Breakfast Seoul, launched by the Asia Foundation in 2020, is pleased to share the preliminary ESG policy recommendations to the next President of South Korea. A group of leaders from the private sector, public sector, academia, and civil society met from May to December of 2021 to develop these recommendations. This working group was chaired by Congressman Jung-hoon Cho (Transition Korea Party) and President Jinho Chung (The Wells Investment). Secretariat support was provided by the Asia Foundation and the Merry Year Social Company (MYSC). For more information on IFB, please click the link below: Impact for Breakfast

News

February 18, 2022

The Asia Foundation Supported a Woman-owned Art-technology Company Through the Access to Finance Support

February 3, 2022 - The Asia Foundation supports women entrepreneurs in Gyeonggi province to enhance their accessibility to finance through crowdfunded loans(P2P). Gallery360 is one of the beneficiaries. CEO Shin Hyo Mi founded the company in May 2018 based on her professional background in the IT industry and working experience with artists. With a mission to ‘lead daily art culture through connecting art and consumers and supporting artists with IT technology,’ Gallery360 is a fast-growing art technology company. The firm provides an online art platform with virtual showcases and a portfolio of 1,000 local artists (mostly low-income), virtual gallery services for organizations and individuals wanting to showcase their works or hold promotional events online, and digital interactive publishing solutions for clients’ marketing purposes. Gallery360 showed a rapid increase in sales and profits, earning 611 million KRW (approximately $531,000) in 2020 alo..

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February 03, 2022

The Asia Foundation Hosts Australia-Republic of Korea-United States Trilateral Dialogue

December 17, 2021 - The Asia Foundation held an Australia-Republic of Korea-United States Trilateral Dialogue on 16 and 17 December. During this meeting, policymakers, scholars and other experts discussed key political, security, economic, and international cooperation issues important to improve and strengthen relations between the three countries. The Dialogue was conducted virtually with participants including James Choi, former Australian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Kathleen Stephens, former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, and Representative Park Jin, member of Korea’s National Assembly and Power People Party Chairman of the Special Committee on Diplomacy & Security. Korean and US relations with Australia have deepened over the years. Overlapping strategic and economic interests have increasingly seen all three countries expand ties across a wide spectrum of issues. Issues discussed in this trilateral dialogue included: 1. Political-Security trends and challenges in the I..

Press Release

December 17, 2021

The Asia Foundation Trains Women Entrepreneurs to Deliver ‘Personal Initiative Training’ for Women Entrepreneurs in Gyeonggi Province

December 15, 2021 - On December 14, The Asia Foundation Korea successfully delivered its 12-week Personal Initiative (PI) Training, Training-of-Trainers (ToT) program, equipping three women entrepreneurs in Gyeonggi Province with the capacity to deliver PI training to other entrepreneurs directly. PI training is an alternative approach to traditional entrepreneurship training, developed by a group of researchers in Germany after the Unification of the East and West. The PI training has been empirically proven to generate better business results than best-in-class entrepreneurship training approaches, as peer-reviewed by the Science journal in collaboration with the World Bank Group. PI Training begins with a ToT program that trains existing entrepreneurs as certified PI trainers, who will directly deliver the PI Training to potential beneficiaries. The Asia Foundation selected three women entrepreneurs currently operating in Gyeonggi Province as trainer candidates to participate in the ToT program. ..

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December 15, 2021

The Asia Foundation Hosts Trilateral Discussion on Korea-Vietnam-United States Cooperation

December 14, 2021 - The Asia Foundation organized a discussion focused on the Korea-Vietnam-United States trilateral relationship on December 9 and 10. The meeting provided an opportunity for scholars, policymakers, and government officials to discuss key political, security, economic, and trade issues important to improving and strengthening trilateral relations. The events were conducted virtually with participants from the three countries. Despite differences in political ideology, Korean and U.S. engagement with Vietnam have deepened and evolved since formal diplomatic relations were established more than a quarter-century ago. Overlapping strategic and economic interests have led the three countries to expand ties across a broad spectrum of issues. Specific issues examined during the trilateral included: 1. Political-Security Trends and Challenges in the Indo-Pacific and what these trends and challenges mean for South Korea, the United States, and Vietnam ..

Press Release

December 14, 2021

The Asia Foundation co-launches a ground-breaking research initiative to shape the role of multinational corporations and policy in Asia

The Asia Foundation, Economics of Mutuality Foundation, Erasmus University in Rotterdam, and Hanyang University, are recruiting a post-doc research candidate on “Inclusive Growth Models in Asian Countries.” This is rare opportunity to join a two-year research collaboration and a global movement to repurpose the role of multinational companies around the world (see www.eom.org). The successful researcher will spend one year in Asia and one year in Europe, using economic theory to practical applications in business and policy towards a more inclusive Asia and the world. For more information, please find the attached file.

Careers

November 30, 2021

[Newsletter] Fall 2021

The Fall edition of The Asia Foundation Korea is here! Please check our latest news Asian Voices on the Future of U.S.-Asia Relations: Strategic Recommendations for the Biden Administration The Asia Foundation released a set of recommendations to the U.S. administration, developed by leading international relations, security, economic, and trade specialists from across the Asia-Pacific. The report was chaired by Ambassador Han SungJoo of South Korea (Board Emeritus of the Friends of The Asia Foundation Korea), and co-..

Newsletter

November 29, 2021

The Asia Foundation Organizes a Watch Party to Celebrate President Eun Mee Kim's Chang-Lin Tien Award

November 10, 2021 - The Asia Foundation presented Dr. Eun Mee Kim, President of Ewha Womans University and board member of the Friends of The Asia Foundation Korea, with the 2021 Chang-Lin Tien Distinguished Leadership Award in San Francisco, U.S on November 10 (Korea time). President Kim received the award for her commitment to a better Korea and Asia through women’s empowerment and her contributions to international development. Coinciding with the awards ceremony held in the United States, The Asia Foundation Korea Office organized a Watch Party at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul to celebrate President Kim's award. The event was attended by distinguished guests from Ewha Womans University and friends from Korea's international development cooperation community. At this Watch Party, Kook-hyun Moon, Chairman of the Friends of The Asia Foundation Korea and CEO of Hansoll Textile, and Kwang Kim, Korea country representative of The Asia Foundation..

News

November 10, 2021

The Asia Foundation supported Gyeonggi women entrepreneurs’ access to finance

October 20, 2021 - Since June 2021, The Asia Foundation and its partner BPLUS have initiated its new support program to raise funds via crowdfunding (soft loans from peer-to-peer investors) to enable access to finance for women in Gyeonggi Province. As of October 2021, the program raise a total of 115 million KRW for four women entrepreneurs, an x12.5 leverage of the Foundation’s interest subsidy. Both organizations selected a total of six women entrepreneurs in need for capital through a comprehensive evaluation on financial and non-financial criteria. Among these entrepreneurs, four have successfully raised the amount of funds they have required, and two are expected to open their fundraising projects in the coming weeks. Most of the selected beneficiaries were starting, expanding, and/or taking new initiatives for their ventures and in need of capital. Use of funds varied widely, ranging from new product development, branding/marketing of existing products, and se..

News

October 20, 2021