Personal Initiative Training for North Korean Refugee Entrepreneurs

September 15, 2021 – Supported by Community Chest of Korea, The Asia Foundation successfully delivered its ‘Personal Initiative (PI) Training’ for North Korean refugee entrepreneurs. A total of fifteen North Korean refugee entrepreneurs from diverse industries and ages participated in the six-week online training program. Based on findings by The Asia Foundation, the program aimed to strengthen the entrepreneurial mindsets of North Korean entrepreneurs significantly challenged by the extreme competitiveness of South Korea’s market-based economy. The PI training model is an alternative approach to traditional entrepreneurship training, developed by a group of researchers in Germany after the unification of the East and West. This model is empirically proven to generate better business results than best-in-class entrepreneurship training approaches, as peer-reviewed by the Journal Science in collaboration with the World Bank Group. From August to September 2021, the PI ..

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September 15, 2021

The Asia Foundation Organizes Session on Regional Perspectives on the State of the Korean Peninsula

September 1, 2021 — Despite many decades of efforts by Korea, the U.S., and other world leaders, the future of North Korea and its relationship with the rest of the world remains uncertain and unresolved. New perspectives are needed, and The Asia Foundation hosted the session “Asian Views on Peace and Stability of the Korean Peninsula,” which brought together regional perspectives on peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula, and highlighted engagement opportunities, particularly from Asian countries. The Korea Global Forum for Peace is a track 1.5 multilateral forum hosted by the Ministry of Unification of the Republic of Korea to discuss peace and unification of the Korean Peninsula. The Asia Foundation’s Korea office organized Asian Views on Peace and Stability of the Korean Peninsula, on August 31, 2021. The online session was moderated by Oh Youngju, President, Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, and panelists include C. Raja Mohan, Hoo..

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September 02, 2021

Impact for Breakfast Policy Working Group and its members continue its monthly sessions

August 27, 2021 – With active support and engagement from its members, the Impact for Breakfast (IFB) Policy Working Group continued its monthly discussions to identify key barriers and opportunities in Korea’s ESG and impact investment landscape. Since its inaugural meeting in May 2021, the Working Group has gathered an average of 20 members across different sectors for in-depth monthly conversations, providing civil society and private sector inputs to the Korean government. Key topics of discussion included data, standards, and reporting guidelines like the role of the public sector in funding, diversifying the investor base, and measuring impact. In addition, each member shared their own experiences and insights and discussed benchmarking best practices worldwide. In selected sessions, the Working Group invited relevant personnel, including the director of K-ESG development from the Korea Productivity Center (KPC) and Korean Representative for Global Steering ..

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August 27, 2021

[Newsletter] Summer 2021

The Summer edition of The Asia Foundation Korea newsletter is here! Please see our latest news. ..

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August 13, 2021

The Asia Foundation and Ewha W. University discussed future collaboration

May 28, 2021 – The Friends of The Asia Foundation Chairman Kook-Hyun Moon and Country Representative Kwang Kim visited Ewha Womans University and discussed future collaboration with President of Ewha Womans University and FOTAF Board Member Eun Mee Kim and Vice President Kyung Shik Shin. (Photo provided by Ewha Womans University)

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June 24, 2021

The Asia Foundation and the Gyeonggido Job Foundation Signs an MOU

June 8, 2021 - The Asia Foundation and the Gyeonggido Job Foundation signed an MOU to support women entrepreneurs in Gyeonggi province. The Asia Foundation conducted the research on women’s entrepreneurs in Gyeonggi province in 2018. Based on the report recommendations, The Asia Foundation and the Gyeonggido Job Foundation started a comprehensive program to support women entrepreneurs in 2020. “We established a milestone to continue our cooperation systematically through the MOU with The Asia Foundation to support women’s economic independence and empowerment,” Ms. Hong Chun-hee, the Head of the Women’s Development Headquarter at the Gyeonggido Job Foundation said. Emphasizing The Asia Foundation’s long-term interest in women empowerment, Director Lee Kyung-sook responded that, “We believe The Asia Foundation’s project to support women entrepreneurs in Gyeonggi province will prove successful through the cooperation with ..

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June 15, 2021

The Asia Foundation launches an innovative training program to support North Korean entrepreneurs in South Korea

May 27, 2021 – With the support of Community Chest and Korea Startup Forum (KSF), The Asia Foundation Korea successfully delivered a ‘Personal Initiative (PI) Training’ pilot training to 10 current and aspiring entrepreneurs, consisting mostly of North Korean refugees. The 6-week program empowered entrepreneurs with behavioral skills such as self-starting and future orientation. Through a combination of lectures, facilitated discussions, and hands-on activities, the project helped trainees to overcome barriers in their business. One participant shared that she was able to secure over 100 million KRW of funding through applying what she learned from PI Training to a new business proposal she has been working on. “Everything I learned through PI Training – especially on designing ways to receive constructive feedbacks and proactively searching for opportunities for such feedbacks – was critical in receiving this fund, as well as refining my current business model&r..

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June 01, 2021

[Impact for Breakfast] The Asia Foundation launches a Policy Working Group on ESG and Impact Investment in Seoul

May 26, 2021 – The inaugural meeting for Impact for Breakfast (IFB) Seoul Policy Working Group was held in Seoul to develop policy recommendations to the Korean government on ESG and impact investment. The group is chaired by Congressman Junghun Cho and President Jinho Chung from The Wells Investment, a purpose-driven Venture Capital firm based in Seoul. Eighteen industry leaders from diverse sectors joined the discussion facilitated by The Asia Foundation and Merry Year Social Company (MYSC), who are serving as the Secretariat of the working group. Other participants include leaders in Korea’s ESG practitioners, pension funds, academia, lawyers, family offices, NGOs, as well as CEOs and Representative Directors of leading investment firms. This Policy Working Group was launched after the IFB February meeting, titled “Can Public Policy Unlock Korea’s Growth Potential in Sustainable Finance?” The IFB Policy Working Group aims to i..

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May 31, 2021

The Asia Foundation hosted the “North Korean Refugee Entrepreneurs in South Korea” Report Launch Event

April 28, 2021 - The Asia Foundation, in collaboration with the KDI School of Public Policy and Management, hosted a report launch event titled “North Korean Refugee Entrepreneurs in South Korea: Unveiling Korea’s Hidden Potential” on April 28, 2021, 16:00 to 18:00 (KST). After a report overview presented by Korea Country Representative Kwang Kim, the Forum convened North Korean refugee experts across academia, NGOs, and the legal and public sectors. They discussed insights on North Korean refugee entrepreneurs and offered policy recommendations to bolster social inclusion, in order to support refugee entrepreneurs in Korea. Below is the list of speakers invited to the Forum: Welcome remarks Jong-il You, Dean, KDI School of Public Policy and Management Congratulatory remarks Andrei Lankov, Professor, Kookmin University Presenter Kwang Kim, Country Representative, The Asi..

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May 11, 2021