Workshops boosts network of Korean, ASEAN youths

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The Korea Times

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Asia

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The Korea Times

National

Tue, February 7, 2023 | 01:16

Workshops boosts network of Korean, ASEAN youths

Posted : 2014-08-25 18:30

Updated : 2014-08-27 09:33

Korean and ASEAN university students participating in an ASEAN-Korea Center Youth Workshop in Vietnam pose after they dressed up in ASEAN costumes in Da Nang, Vietnam, Thursday. / Courtesy of the ASEAN-Korea Center

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Korea Center hosted a youth workshop in Vietnam, aimed at promoting cultural exchange and understanding among university students from Korea and Sutheast Asia.

The center held the five-day event in Da Nang, Vietnam, as a continuation of "ASEAN-Korea Youth Workshop 2014," held in Seoul in July. Thirty students participated in the workshop, chosen from 80 Korean and foreign students residing in Korea.

Whereas previous workshops discussed issues such as sustainable water resources management, the Vietnam event focused on creating a venue for future leaders of ASEAN and Korea. "We are trying to enhance mutual understanding, cooperation and friendship for one another," ASEAN-Korea Center official Kim So-young said.

Participants visited the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hoi An, met with local Vietnamese in marketplaces, and attended a cultural performance. An exchange program with Da Nang University students allowed ASEAN students to make friends and helped strengthen students' networks, according to the center.

Marian Alcantara, a Philippine participant said, "The uniqueness of my country's culture has inspired me to appreciate other countries' diversity on a deeper level."

Nguyen Tuyet, a Vietnamese participant, said, "I became more tolerant of cultural differences; there is no culture which is superior or inferior."

"We're just different and because of that we have our own role in the world. If we play our role and contribute our part without prejudice we can make this place a better world."

As the trip to Vietnam generated great enthusiasm among the participants, the center plans to hold similar events in the future.

Kwon Joon-young, a Korean participant, said he learned the importance of the solidarity. "I used to think that only United States, China and Japan were our major partners. But through this outbound program, I learned that ASEAN countries are important to Korea in many fields like politics and economics."

This was the fifth workshop of its kind, and the center has been working with its Southeas Asian partners for 25 years.

The ASEAN group included Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam, among others.

Ea Hai Khov, a Cambodian participant added, "I felt a sense of family. Although we have different backgrounds, cultures, and religions, we were one during the event."

hschoi21sb@naver.com