Celebrating the 60th anniversary of its establishment, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Korea has designated the street in front of its building in Myeongdong as "UNESCO Street."
Braving the rain, Chun Taeck-soo, secretary general of UNESCO Korea, joined dignitaries to unveil a signatory copper stone in front of its building, last Monday.
Among the guests was Irina Bokova, director general of UNESCO in Paris, who was in town to participate in the second World Conference on Arts Education at COEX, southern Seoul. The conference ended Friday.
A person familiar with the designation said the initiative had to face fierce opposition from shop owners in the vicinity.
For the last six decades, UNESCO Korea has worked to promote the values of education, science and culture in and outside the country.
Korea joined UNESCO on June 14, 1950. Eleven days later, the Korean War broke out.
As a new member, UNESCO Korea played a liaison role, providing assistance to the war-torn nation.
Textbooks and printing machines were among the primary donations.
In a recent interview with The Korea Times, Jang Ki-won, incumbent Korean ambassador to UNESCO, said he was a student who studied with textbooks provided by UNESCO.
Over time, Korea''s economic landscape changed. So did the role of the organization.
Korea graduated from a group of aid recipients, and UNESCO Korea's focus has switched off to symbolize the Korean development experience, so that it can be shared with other developing countries.
One good example is "the Bridge" program. The new initiative is to train South Korean college students or college graduates to likewise train their peers in host countries, in which they will spend four years.
The goal of the program is to educate young adults in the host countries so that they could in turn educate the public.