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..

News

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..

News

May 11, 2021

Asia Times / Korea trapped in shifting sands of US-China rivalry (2021. 4. 2.)

Ambassador Sungjoo Han, FOTAF Chairman of the Board Emeritus, is extensively quoted by the Asia Times that “the world may be entering a new era – that of ‘identity politics’” to explain today’s complex relationship between Korea, United States, China, and Japan. Please click the link to see his full interview in the news article. Title: Korea trapped in shifting sands of US-China rivalry Date: April 2, 2021 Link: Korea trapped in shifting sands of US-China rivalry - Asia Times

Media Coverage

April 06, 2021

[Newsletter] Spring 2021

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

Newsletter

March 31, 2021

Is ESG a Viable Investment in South Korea in 2021?

January 27, 2021 - The Asia Foundation hosted an inspiring discussion on whether 2021 is the year to mainstream ESG and impact investment in Korea. The discussion was led by Robert Kim (Client Advisor, CapRock, Hyunjoo Joo (Managing Director, Yellow Dog), and Jay Lipman (Co-Founder and President, Ethics Investment). Interest in ESG has increased exponentially in the past years, reaching over $40 trillion globally in 2020. Covid-19 has accelerated the performance gap between market benchmarks and ESG, generating even more interest from the global investment community. However, South Korea remains behind: our Asia Foundation research on sustainable finance in Korea indicates that East Asia (and Korea in particular) ranks at the bottom of impact investment flows compared to other regions, as well as in total share of socially responsible investment to total assets. This is also an opportunity to grow and expand this growing investment market. While there has been a growing interest in ESG inv..

News

February 01, 2021

The Asia Foundation hosted Northeast Asia Policy Dialogue Forum on Sustainable Infrastructure Cooperation in the era of COVID-19

December 1-3, 2020 - The Asia Foundation with the KDI School of Public Policy and Management, hosted the 2020 Northeast Asia Policy Dialogue Forum, “Northeast Asian Perspectives on Sustainable Infrastructure Cooperation in the era of COVID-19: Managing National and Regional Objectives in China, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia” through December 1-3, 2020. The Forum convened key experts and opinion leaders from China, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia to exchange ideas on the latest trends, opportunities, and challenges related to sustainable infrastructure in Northeast Asia, with a view to building trust and spurring greater regional cooperation. Among the five sessions, the framing session was open to the public as a hybrid (online & offline) format, while the consecutive sessions were conducted virtually in a closed setting. Watch the Forum’s Framing Session:

News

January 22, 2021

Grants for Women Entrepreneurs in Gyeonggi Province

December 31, 2020 - Using the newly launched impact investment digital platform, the Foundation selected five promising women entrepreneurs who have faced difficulties in business due to Covid-19 pandemic and have limited access to traditional finance such as bank loans and equity investments. Selected women entrepreneurs received a grant of KRW two million and were screened based on six criteria: 1) women entrepreneurs in Gyeonggi Province who have 2) less than three years of operation, 3) at least two employees, 4) been impacted by Covid-19 in operational and sales capacity, 5) reasonable business sustainability, and 6) passed the negative screening test, such as no involvement in sales or business of alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and other reputational risks in political affiliation and violations of laws. The grants were based on the aforementioned criteria to ensure flexibility and timeliness of the grant. We have provided preference to those in vulnerable social groups, such ..

News

December 31, 2020

The Asia Foundation organized the Korea-ASEAN seminar on innovation for gender equality in Covid-19 era

December 9, 2020 - With the support of the KDI School of Public Policy and Management, The Asia Foundation Korea and Thailand convened a Korea-ASEAN seminar entitled Sustainable Development in Southeast Asia: Innovation for Gender Equality in Covid-19 Era, in cooperation with ACSDSD (ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue.) The unprecedented onset of Covid-19 pandemic has placed women at a risk in the economic sector particularly and innovative solutions could be the key to minimizing the disproportionate impact and promoting sustainability and resilience. With this background in mind, representatives from the ASEAN secretariat, UN Women, governments, private sector, academia, think tanks, and civil society organizations in ASEAN region and Korea discussed the impact of Covid-19 on women and the importance of innovation for promoting gender equality. Also, innovative practices were shared by the Ministry of Family and Gender Equality and Family, the Korea Center for Women in Sci..

News

December 09, 2020