Dr. Lars-André Richter, Resident Representative of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, introduced the work of our office in Korea. For the German Embassy in Korea, Johannes Regenbrecht explained how the German government is supporting initiatives to promote freedom and democracy worldwide. Yoo Jae-Kun, former Chief of Staff of the late Korean President Kim Dae-Jung, talked about the promotion of liberal ideas. Pett Jarupaiboon from Thailand showed a video about the work of the Economic Freedom Network Asia.

The main lecture was given by Dr. Kim Chung-Ho, Professor of Economics at Yonsei University and founder of the think-tank "Freedom Factory Ltd." Before talking about "The Challenge for Liberals in Korea", he performed a rap that earned him the title "Freedom Rapper". The evening closed with a lively debate, moderated by Tricia Yeoh of Rakyat Institut, Malaysia.

    
The unusually heavy rainfall on the day did not prevent about 45 enthusiastic liberal-minded students from getting together in Shinchon, Seoul to attentively listen Mr. Miklos Romandy, one of the co-authors of the project of “Freedom Barometer Asia” from FNF Southeast and East Asia Regional Office based in Bangkok. The event was opened by Dr. Richter, Resident Representative FNF Korea and Ms. Bora Shin, President of the Youth Forum, who introduced their respective organization. The Youth Forum is a young NGO registered under the Ministry of Security and Public Administration, which aims to encourage young people to be more actively engaged in discussions of various social issues, such as globalization, market economy and liberal democracy.     

                                  Group picture of participants

After the introduction, Mr. Romandy explained details of the Freedom Barometer Asia; its objectives, three dimensions of freedom and employed indicators, different data sources as well as the overall ranking of evaluated countries with its level of freedom. Developed by the FNF Southeast and East Asian regional office since 2010 as a way to measure and to compare the level of freedom in 17 Asian countries, the barometer captures the notion of freedom from three important dimensions: political freedom, rule of law and economic freedom. Its results have been yearly published. According to the latest report, Korea’s overall level of freedom ranks the 5th out of the 17 countries. His presentation was followed by many questions from the floors, such as the reasons why Korea gains relatively low score on the independence of judiciary system in spite of well-established check and balance in the country and how Japan could achieve a high degree of economic freedom while it is known for the labor market rigidity.

Miklos Romandy during his presentation

Attended by about 200 active participants - mostly interested citizens who are already involved in citizens’ participation through local community centers- , the seminar could successfully provide a practical and useful forum where participants discussed the crucial aspects of citizen governance, in particular, its relation with local development.  

The seminar was opened by Mayor Choi Sung, City of Goyang with his keynote speech, stressing that he would do his best to shorten the distance between the city administration and citizens. He was also very proud of the strong citizen participation in his city, explaining the city’s policy aimed to vitalize local community and citizen’s participation in city administration. Following presentations covered theoretical framework to understand citizen governance, the current status of citizen governance in the city of Goyang and some strategic suggestions for successful citizen governance.   

During the discussions opened also to the floor, many participants enthusiastically shared their stories related with community centers and came up with several suggestions to their local government in order to strengthen the role of the community centers.  For instance, these ideas include a need for having a standing staff at the community center as well as a need for providing an incentive to those who voluntarily work for the community.   

At the end of the seminar, participants fully shared the idea that citizen governance actually serves as a driving force for local development, because it helps citizens to build up their democratic capacities and to bring them altogether to maximize their potential and resources for better local solutions.

This event takes place on the occasion of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Germany and Korea 130 years ago. It is co-organized by the Korean Ministry of Reunification, the National Unification Advisory Council, Joong Ang Ilbo, the German Embassy, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Hanns Seidel Foundation, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

The conference takes place on 12 June at IFES. It hopes to provide informative and objective assessments of the various in-country and overseas projects geared toward assisting North Koreans gain knowledge and build capacity in areas such as economics, finance, environmental protection, and sustainable agriculture, among others.

Dr. Richter pointed out that while there seemingly is a contradiction between North Korea’s proclaimed desire for economic development and its recent provocative actions, such as the temporary withdrawal of all workers from the Kaesong Industrial Complex, he still holds hope that the country would eventually return to the economic-growth-oriented path. In fact, during discussions in Pyongyang, North Korean government officials showed interest in learning from Germany’s expertise in urban planning and development.
During the subsequent 20-minute discussion session, participants were able to express their own opinions and asked questions regarding the economic impact of a prolonged crisis, the role of China in solving it, and the way the South Korean government could handle the situation.

On the occasion of the anniversary, a high-ranking delegation from Germany and Bangkok –where the Foundation’s regional office in charge of East and Southeast Asia is located– visited Korea for a couple of days. The delegation consisted of Irmgard Schwaetzer, former Federal Minister of Regional Planning, Building and Urban Development and former Deputy Foreign Minister, Rainer Adam, Regional Director, Bangkok, and Moritz Kleine-Brockhoff, Head of Asia Desk in the Foundation’s headquarters in Potsdam, Germany.

Celebration with 130 guests

Highlight of the visit was the anniversary celebration which took place in the President Hotel in Seoul’s city centre, in Schubert Hall at 31th floor. Round about 130 attended the event. Han Sang Woo, director of the CLA, served as master of ceremonies.

In his congratulatory address Rolf Mafael, German Ambassador in Seoul, put the emphasis on the German-Korean relations: “Germany feels a close affinity with the Republic of Korea due to common values and interests. As a stable and vibrant democracy, Korea, too, has committed itself to freedom, respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law.”

Referring to the German unification in 1990 Ambassador Mafael added: “Both of our countries share many similarities. One of them is the experience of the division of our nations. By bringing in the very unique German experience of national reunification the Naumann Foundation promotes peace and stability on the Korean peninsula through dialogue and international cooperation – in South and North Korea.”

Powerful local politicians: something very crucial for a democratic culture

“Without your support we would have never successed“, said Kim Chong Yang, Chairman of the Boards of Hanyang Foundation, in his address. He recalled that round about 12.000 of the participants of the Naumann Foundation’s educational program became Members of Parliament or hold high positions in local politics. In any case their support of local autonomy in the Republic of Korea has been significant.

In her speech former minister Schwaetzer underlined the relevance of the cooperation with the Hanyang University: “When the Foundation thought about opening an office here in Seoul to support the process of democratization in South Korea we were lucky to find in the Hanyang University a highly competent and reliable partner.”

Regarding the focal issue of the cooperation she stressed: “Powerful and self confident local politicians are something very crucial for a democratic culture; Germany’s experience in this field is extremely good. The reason for that is that German politics traditionally put the emphasis on the principle of subsidiarity, that means on the idea that it’s always the best way to solve problems on that political or administrative level where they can be solved most efficiently. Often this level is not the national or the regional but the local one.”

Organise a birthday party: more complicate than saving the world

Lars-André Richter, who has been serving as the Foundation’s resident representative in Seoul since June recalled the time before he came: “When I was prepared for my job here in Korea, I asked what would be my first task after having assumed the new position. I expected to be asked to solve all basic problems in East Asia. But the answer was: To organise a sort of birthday party, due to today’s anniversary.” Mr. Richter added: “That seemed a little bit more complicate than saving the world.”

Apart from the CLA, the Foundation has been cooperating with Jeju Peace Institute and the Institute for Far Eastern Studies of Kyungnam University. Both advocate peace and stability at the Korean Peninsula and try to make people being prepared for a potential unification.

Lars-André Richter

This has been raising serious concerns on democratic functions and representativeness of local autonomy. It’s said that big local governments are not appropriate to encourage citizen participation, unless they invigorate neighborhood autonomy. Aware of these concerns, the Korean government is currently preparing measures to improve existing community centers meant to encourage citizens’ participation in local affairs, which are to be re-established with enhanced responsibility and functions in 2014.

Against this background, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and the Center for Local Autonomy at Hanyang University co-hosted the 26th FNF-CLA International Conference entitled “Grassroots Democracy and the Role of Community Center” in Seoul, on October 25.  The conference aimed to discuss issues of citizen’s participation, i.e. community centers and to elaborate on the possible model for Korea by sharing successful overseas cases.

During the conference, participants recognized that existing community centers in Korea have failed to carry out their proper functions as promoting grassroots democracy and called for reforms towards a better model which can foster citizens’ participation. According to Professor Kim Soon Eun from Seoul National University, the representation issues are the most important reasons for this failure. The level of residents’ participation has not been so high and the composition of the autonomous neighborhood board (who is responsible for running the community center) does not stand for fair representation of the community. The members of the board are assumed to be more government oriented rather than resident oriented. As a solution, he proposed three alterative models to solve these problems and found the “integrated model”- which consists of local civil servants and representatives of citizens- the most feasible under Korean context.

Japan is also facing similar problems. Professor Mitsuhiko Okamoto from Tokai University in Japan pointed out that community centers in Japan are also suffering from less participation of citizens in their activities. However, he trusts the potentials of residents. “Even if only one percent of residents can lead the community organization, it can become a significant power. If one percent of residents can exercise leadership and take positive action in the community, they can change local autonomy”, he stressed.

Based on comparative studies on reforms at the local level in European countries, Professor Hubert Heinelt from Technische Universität Darmstadt in Germany claimed we should “consider the given responsibilities and autonomy of local government” when reflecting on options to encourage and to strengthen citizens’ participation”. According to him, “without broader responsibilities and autonomy at the local level neither local government has genuine interest to engage seriously in reforms fostering citizen’s participation neither do citizens have incentives to be involved in policy-making at the lowest level of government”

Finally, Professor Robert Chaskin from University of Chicago presented on case studies on various community organizations and associations in three U.S cities, where he found  “a loosely coupled system of organizations and associations interacting with one another, with the formal system of governance as well as with the outsiders to promote community-building efforts in each city. He claimed that “engaging in this set of arrangements most successfully requires recognizing the multiple mechanisms in place and the particular ways they operate in the local context and negotiating relationships among them”

The conference was attended by about 100 participants, who were mostly local civil servants, local councilors and researchers.

Indeed, the North Korean nuclear crisis is an elusive problem. For nearly twenty years Pyongyang’s position has vacillated between agreeing to halt nuclear weapons development in exchange for diplomatic normalization with the United States and energy assistance cum development aid, and continuing to move forward with its nuclear programs. To date, neither multilateral dialogue efforts nor political pressure in the form of international sanctions have curbed North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, the motivation for which appears twofold: economic isolation and security crisis. Helping North Korea find a safer and more viable solution to its energy shortages via energy cooperation could go a long way to alleviate the country’s economic problems, allay the regime’s security fears, establish political trust between North Korea and the international community, and build peace in the region.

Against this background, the conference aims to shed light on energy cooperation with the DPRK for promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula and to draw lessons for the regional energy cooperation as a way to build peace in our region from strategies of the European Union in dealing with its energy security within and beyond the Europe as well as specific German experiences with renewable energy. It attempts to carefully study various alternative energy sources, i.e. renewable energies, which have been actively developed in Europe to solve its energy challenges. 

The conference was attended by experts both from home and abroad; participating international speakers include Professor Tomohiro Inagaki from Hiroshima University in Japan who delivered the keynote speech “Steep Road to Reduce Dependence on Nuclear Energy in Japan”, Dr. Eckehard Büscher and Dr. Volkhard Riechmann from Germany, who respectively presented on “EU’s Energy Policy & External Relations” and “Germany’s Renewable Industry and Implications of Germany’s complete abandonment of nuclear power plants to Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia”.

The program of the one-week study tour included visits of several sites of electricity production and heating systems in Bavaria and North Rhine Westphalia (NRW). Although there are no areas with active volcanoes in Germany there are less seismically regions where heat is continually supplied. The milder heat can be tapped at depths between three and some hundred meters below the surface, and can be used for heating and/or cooling buildings.

In the vicinity of the Bavarian capital Munich geothermal energy is used for electricity generation. The DPRK delegation visited geothermal plants in Unterhaching, Aschheim and Erding where geological conditions are suitable for geothermal energy generation. Since capital costs for developing geothermal power (drilling, construction of plant etc.) are still significant three municipalities in Unterhaching joined forces to share the financial burden and construct a geothermal power plant. From a depth of 3000 meters 150 liters of hot thermal water per second is pumped to the surface and generates about 3.4MW electricity as well as 38MW thermal power. Thanks to this geothermal project the three municipalities are almost completely independent from external sources of energy. In North Rhine Westphalia, the DPRK delegation visited the innovation center for heat pumps in Wiesenbusch Gladbeck, the NRW Institute for Geological Research, and the International Geothermal Center in Bochum where it also had the opportunity to inspect a borehole and drilling site.

Apart from procedural and technical issues the DPRK delegation also talked about Germany’s energy turnaround and future energy policy. Representatives of the Bavarian Ministry of Economy stressed that for Germany nuclear energy is no longer an option. The trust of German citizens in the safety of nuclear plants has dramatically diminished after the nuclear disaster in Fukushima in March 2011; in addition, problems of nuclear waste management are still unsolved. The German government has therefore decided to switch off all nuclear reactors by 2022 while increasing the energy production by renewable energies. Although solar and wind energy represents the major share, geothermal energy will also play an increasing role. It has to be seen whether North Korea can make use of its natural, geological conditions and use its potential for continuous energy supply.

Pictures (from top):

1. Visit of a borehole site in Ismaning/Munich.

2. DPRK experts visit the 'archive' of the Institute for Geological Research in Krefeld.

3. Looking at basic components of a heat pump at the Innovation Center Wiesenbusch Gladbeck.

This year’s Economic Freedom Network Asia Conference will be jointly organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) and EFN Asia member: the Lion Rock Institute from Hong Kong.
Our event will bring together high-profile speakers and delegates from our network members from all over the world, who will share their expertise on the topic.

We are looking forward to an exciting Economic Freedom Network Asia conference 2012. Once the program is finalized, we will send out formal, individual invitations.

The international conference “Rethinking nuclear issues in North East Asia” that was jointly organized by the Institute for Far Eastern Studies of Kyungnam University and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) was opened by Dr. Lee Su-hoon, Director of IFES, and Mr. Manfred Richter, Member of FNF’s Board of Directors.

In his keynote speech, former ROK Minister of Unification und current President of Kyungnam University, Park Jae-kyu, highlighted the diplomatic efforts taken to solve the North Korean nuclear crisis. One major step to reduce the crisis was the outcome of negotiations between the U.S. and the DPRK in Geneva in 1994: the Agreed Framework that initiated “meaningful interaction and cooperation” between the U.S., DPRK, ROK and Japan. The second nuclear crisis in 2002 led to the establishment of the six-party talks in which the major stakeholders are taking part. This multilateral forum has achieved something but it failed to stop the DPRK from testing missiles and nuclear devices. In addition, it illustrates the differing strategic and political interests of the parties that obstruct a common policy towards the DPRK. Minister Park welcomed the recent agreement reached between the DPRK and the U.S. but emphasized that denuclearization would need to be solved in the framework of the six-party talks.

In the first session, Dr. Leon Sigal (Social Science Research Council) gave an assessment of the Obama Doctrine. According to him, the new nuclear doctrine led to some changes but there are still steps to be taken such as the withdrawal of its remaining non-strategic or tactical warheads from Europe and the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Prof. Savelyev (IMEMO) discussed the achievements and challenges of the Global Partnership Program that was established by the G-8 states in 2002. He reminded the audience of the differing threat perceptions that exist in Russia and the U.S. with regard to national security. The speaker emphasized that the lack of trust was the “most serious obstacle” to a closer cooperation “in practically all the spheres of security, including non-proliferation issues”. South Korea’s perspective on the G-8 Global Partnership was presented by Lee Sang-hyun, Director for Planning and Coordination of the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In Lee’s view, the South Korean government will seek to take “a more active role” in global efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation.

Great attention drew the presentation of Dr. Siegfried Hecker (Stanford University) who had visited the DPRK’s nuclear facilities in the past. In a special session chaired by former ROK Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, the U.S. scientist gave a brief overview on the DPRK’s nuclear program and recent nuclear developments. According to estimates, the DPRK has about four to eight nuclear bombs but it has “not much of a nuclear arsenal”. However, there is reason to believe that Pyongyang is trying to develop missile-capable nuclear systems. More nuclear tests would be needed to employ small nuclear warheads. What seemed to concern Dr. Hecker most were safety issues related to the operation of a light-water reactor (LWR): “What is especially troubling is that this [LWR] is a new endeavor for North Korea and its technical specialists have not been part of the global nuclear safety community.” He also proposed some steps to reduce the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula but with regard to a solution of this crisis, he was “optimistic in the long term but pessimistic in the short term”.

Further topics discussed during the last session of this meeting included the future of nuclear power in Northeast Asia, especially after the nuclear disaster in Fukushima. Prof. Jian Cai (Fudan University) gave a comparative analysis of the current status of nuclear power and related policies in China, South Korea and Japan. Prof. Takahara Takao called on the governments to overcome the “Cold-War mindset” and to jointly work for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Northeast Asia.

One key point of his speech titled “The Euro and the future of Europe in times of global interdependence” was the “power of freedom and liberty”. Minister Westerwelle, an alumnus of Hanyang University, stressed that trust in this power would overwhelm everything else – as German reunification and the unification of Europe has shown.

With regard to the global financial crisis Minister Westerwelle addressed questions about Germany’s role in solving this crisis and concerns about the development of the European currency. According to him, the term “‘euro crisis’ is misleading because the euro itself is not in crisis” while reminding the audience of the remarkable success story of the European currency. Therefore, the answer to the crisis must be “more Europe, not less”. He said: “We don’t want a German Europe, we want a European Germany.”  

Minister Westerwelle also reminded the audience about the two countries’ shared history of national division and development towards leading export nations. Due to a lack of significant natural resources and fossil fuels Korea and Germany had to invest in the education of their citizens as well as in the development of strong cutting-edge technologies. “Our raw material is not below our feet but between our ears”, he said. According to him, the future of a country was not decided by any tax system but the competitiveness of its education system. Therefore, the German government refrained from cutting the national budget for education and science despite the financial crisis.

To meet the challenges of a more complex and multi-polar world Minister Westerwelle also pointed at the need for restructuring international institutions such as the UN Security Council. The current structure of the UNSC is a remnant of the bipolar world but does not reflect today’s multi-polar system since neither the continents of Latin America nor Africa are represented and Asia is underrepresented among the permanent members. He also advocated strengthening the authority of the United Nations.

Speaking of the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit that he attended later that day, Minister Westerwelle stressed its overall goal of a “world without nuclear weapons”. In this regard, North Korea needs to be encouraged to give up its nuclear weapons.

The visit of Minister Westerwelle who received a honorary doctorate in political science in 2006 is regarded as a momentum for further strengthening the cooperation between Hanyang University and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. Since 1987 the Foundation supports the University’s Center for Local Autonomy in its activities to promote political decentralization.

Developed by the Southeast and East Asia Regional Office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) the index measures and compares selected aspects of freedom in selected countries from a liberal point of view.

In addition to the new edition, FNF proudly presents the Freedom Barometer Website (www.freedombarometer.org) that allows users to compare various countries and their performance over the years. Graphics and charts can now be easily displayed and printed. The website also provides updates about relevant news from the region.

Mr. Klitz, Kim Jong Il died. How does this affect the regime in Pyongyang? Will it start to crumble?

Klitz: We should not expect that. There is no power vacuum. Since three years Kim Jong Il’s son Kim Jong Un has been prepared for the handover of power, although they expected a longer transitional phase.

So the picture of the very powerful man is a false perception of Kim Jong Il?

Klitz: It would be wrong to think that Kim Jong Il made all decisions by himself. North Korea is ruled by a family clan. Kim Jong Un will be the next leader and thereby supported by his family. This will not change the system.

The Asian stock-markets have already responded to the current situation. What will be further political consequences of Kim Jong Il’s death for the region?

Klitz: It is possible, that more deliberate provocations will occur, especially in the Yellow Sea. Perhaps nuclear tests will be imposed for the third time.

South Korea put its military on alert…

Klitz: …which is only a precautionary measure.

Many can still recall the images, when the father Kim Il Sung died. Will these images recur?

Klitz: North Koreans are in sorrow, the scenery of 1994, when Kim Il Sung passed away is very similar. Like his father, Kim Jong Il was mother and father at the same time for the people and is treated as an icon. In North Korea people have strong emotional ties to the leader of the country.

(Translation)

The interview in German can be found here: http://www.freiheit.org/Walter-Klitz-Perspektiven-Nordkoreas-nach-Kim-Jong-Il/617c20831i/index.html

The numerous meetings with local government representatives provided insights in the financial situation of the municipalities in Germany and possible solutions to overcome the debt crisis. In South Korea, the municipalities are financially still highly dependent on the central government and there are concerns that the country’s increasing overall debt will severely reduce the municipalities’ budgets. Therefore, to the Korean delegation the current debate about the financial crisis of the city hospitals in Munich was of great interest.

Roland Werner, vice minister of economy and transportation of the Free State of Saxony, representatives of the city of Dresden and the Saxon Association of Liberal Local Politicians stressed that municipalities would gain more public property through consequent and well-aimed privatization. The meeting with representatives of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Berlin and the German Association of Cities highlighted the importance of privatizing at the “right moment”. In addition, the experience of the privatization of the water supplying company in Berlin has shown the necessity to take decisions exclusively based on economic factors and to abstain from political interventions.

In a meeting with the treasurer of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and former mayor of the city of Bremerhaven, Manfred Richter, the Korean delegation reflected on their visit and the newly gained insights. They concluded that privatization can only be successful if competition with other companies exists and the regulatory force of the market is guaranteed.

After talks with political decision-makers and factory visits in Pyongyang, Mr. Hoffmann noted that economic modernization is making progress, also due to the increasing and visible engagement by China. Furthermore, he gained important insights into Korean society, contemporary history, power structure and decision-making processes in the country. In his welcoming speech delivered during the workshop Mr. Hoffmann emphasized that the issue of renewable energies had been on the political agenda even before the disaster at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima. Despite further progress in technological development nuclear power continued to pose a certain risk. Therefore, Germany had decided on a radical change in its energy policy and even considered to put an end to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Representing the DPRK side, Kim Jong Su, Director General of the State Commission for Science and Technology addressed the participants in his welcoming remarks. Leonhard Thien, director of the Geothermal Energy Network of North Rhine Westphalia, in his presentation, focused on the current status of the development, generation and potential of geothermal energy in Germany. The presentation was followed by an open and long Q&A session. The high-ranking position of the participants showed that North Korea ascribes importance to renewable energies. The State Commission for Science and Technology is subordinated to the cabinet and in hierarchy superior to the ministries.

In the official talks both sides stressed the importance of dialogue. According to Ri Yong Chol, Vice Director of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party, the engagement of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in North Korea was exemplary. The FNF delegation also noted increasing and concrete interests of international investors with regard to a possible opening of the DPRK market.

The discussions of the workshop proved to be very productive. In his keynote speech Ambassador Lee Joongyu, Chancellor of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, stressed that “Cultural Diplomacy establishes a foundation of trust and friendly feelings and has spill-over effects on other political and economic areas”. Walter Klitz, Director of the Foundation’s office in Seoul, admonished in his welcome remarks Cultural Diplomacy should not be confused with Nation Branding.

After their presentations, the speakers from Korea and overseas structured their recommendations which will serve the Korean government to formulate its Cultural Diplomacy strategy, along the following items: 1. Agenda of the Proposed Cultural Diplomacy Initiatives, 2. Agents or Organizers of the Proposed Cultural Diplomacy Initiatives, 3. Vehicles of Proposed Cultural Diplomacy Initiatives, and 4. Target Audience of the Proposed Cultural Diplomacy Initiatives.

Their detailed recommendations are as follows:

1. Agenda of the Proposed Cultural Diplomacy Initiatives

We suggest that the cultural diplomacy initiative should be designed to help educate, enhance, and sustain the relationships between the East Asian countries and cultures. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to help enable relationships between the East Asian region based on dialogue, understanding and trust. As we address the ways in which the different East Asian countries are perceived and presented in their neighboring countries, we suggest a cultural diplomacy initiative that assists in correcting mis-information that might be present and supplements partial information that might already be present. For example, in the case of South Korea, we could organize discussions about the “Korean Wave” and the implications that it has on the perception of Korea abroad. These discussions should be inter-disciplinary in nature in order to provide a more comprehensive view of the country and the countries national identity as a whole.

In addition, we feel as if cultural diplomacy can serve a role in assisting in overcoming historic conflicts that have not yet been resolved between the East Asian countries and ultimately lead to reconciliation. We believe that through humble and honest discussion and exchange about the strengths and weakness as well as the successes and failures of each of the East Asian countries, one can come closer to achieving sustainable reconciliation. We suggest that the initiative support and facilitate multi-language exchanges as well in order to support the learning of local languages in the region.

This initiative should assist in strengthening the cultural bridges as a first priority, however whenever possible should also assist the economic and political bridges between the East Asian countries, which is of course a complimentary win-win goal. Our goal would be to achieve stronger multilateral relationships based on sincere and sustainable understanding and trust.

2. Agents or Organizers of the Proposed Cultural Diplomacy Initiatives

In order to maintain as much neutrality as possible, and to achieve the maximum amount of success, we suggest that the main agent or organizer of the proposed cultural diplomacy be a non-governmental, non-profit, and non-partisan organization. This organization should then work in partnership with public sector, private sector and civil society organizations in each of the respective East Asian countries. Through these partnerships, greater neutrality will be achieved and there will be less of a risk that the cultural diplomacy initiative will be perceived as being linked to a governmental or private sector agenda.

3. Vehicles of Proposed Cultural Diplomacy Initiatives

Our suggestion for the vehicle of the proposed cultural diplomacy initiative would be to create a sustainable network of young professionals and students within the East Asian region. One suggestion was to create a structure to enable easier student exchange within the East Asian region similar to the ERASMUS program in Europe. The other suggestion was to create an East Asian Young Leaders Forum similar to that of Young Leaders Forum of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy. Such an interdisciplinary sustainable network of young leaders could serve as a very efficient and cost-effective way of creating a new platform for the high level leaders, the young leaders and civil societies in the East Asian region to come together.  These programs should be designed as interactive as possible and should be built in such a way to attract the highest level of press and media attention as possible. The choice of themes for each of the programs is very important and should address the key opportunities and challenges facing the region in contemporary times.

4.Target Audience of the Proposed Cultural Diplomacy Initiatives

We suggest that the target audience be as broad and inter-disciplinary as possible. The region in focus when we discuss “East Asia” is: ASEAN plus 3 (China, South Korea, and Japan), plus 3 India, New Zealand, Australia). The student exchange programs should include as many academic fields as possible and the young leaders network should remain inter-disciplinary and international in nature.

“South Korea’s economy has been substantially liberalized in the past two-and-a-half decades, the most recent wave of liberalization occurring after the financial crisis of 1997. The basic parameters of market economy are intact. But Government intervention in Korea is still greater than in most advanced economies”, Walter Klitz, the Resident Representative of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation stated in his welcoming remarks.

The threats to economic freedom are manifold and some are inbuilt into the system (eg, the tradition of excessive legislative activity; the way legislation is developed and imposed on member states, the existence of treaty-based objectives that undermine economic freedom). There are threats to political freedom as well inherent in a) the tendency to ignore the principle of subsidiarity and b) the emasculation of the sovereignty of national parliaments. Deficiencies in economic freedom both at a European and at national levels go a long way in explaining many of the current problems the EU faces, not least the sovereign debt crisis. In the long term the European Union can only survive if its members reaffirm, embrace and implement free market principles in their dealings with each other.

As reported within the media extensively, North Korea’s supply situation was disastrous in spring and early summer. Klitz had the opportunity to visit a cooperative on the country side north of the city of Pyeongseong and gain first-hand impressions of the early crop of 2011. In addition to the “usual problems” North Korean farmers face every year (such as a lack of fertilizer, gas and modern equipment) heavy rain and massive floods in autumn of 2010, an extremely cold and long winter and a serious drought this spring “added up to a severe shortage of food”, the directress of the cooperative told Klitz. Together with the chairwoman of the People´s Committee of the province of North Pyeong-An, she gave him a tour around the degenerated farmland, that once used to be the country’s breadbasket.

The yielded crops are expected to significantly undercut those of 2010. Usually the output of crop on the fields should amount to 2 tons per hectare minimum. This year, only 1 ton per hectare is to be expected. Due to harsh weather conditions (“the hardest winter in 60 years” the guides said), also the turn-out of the potato harvest is expected to be extremely low. While 15 tons per hectare are considered average, the visited acres will only yield to 5-6 tons per hectare this year. In order to compensate and bridge the hard time until the next crop comes in, the cooperative intensified vegetable production. “The stocks are empty and the early crop of 2011 is almost lost. Nevertheless, the situation on the countryside is still far better than within the big cities, but we are all waiting for the rice crop. Until then, even though farmers do not have much to give these days, cities have to be supplied. The critical period” - the two ladies noted - “is now!”

En route to the cooperative and at other trips along the outskirts of Pyongyang, the FNF representative spotted numerous military units working on the fields. It became quite obvious that the whole country was mobilized to sow the summer’s crop. A rich harvest in 2011 (and foreign food aid) is desperately needed for the leadership to pick from an embracement of riches at the “party of the century” in 2012 and prove to its people and the world that the DPRK has really become a “prosperous and powerful nation”.

However, undersupply and malnutrition of parts of North Korea’s population are not ineluctable. Even if the DPRK might heavily rely on food-imports (or aid), the country indeed is rich on natural resources (such as ferromolybdenum and rare earths). A consistent development of those resources and trade could easily open up a back-door to prosperity! A small minority in Pyongyang – despite of all sanctions - seems to already profit from trade and the countrie’s treasures of the soil. The numbers of luxury cars on the capital’s streets, a recently introduced North-Korean debit card system named “wings” (NaRae) and some “popular” café’s and restaurants already testify of “the wealth of a few”. 

(Foto left: Modern times in North Korea, note that the license plate of the car refers to the date 7-27. On June 27th. 1953 the armistice agreement ended the Korean War. Foto right: introduction of the debit card) 

In a meeting with the head of the North Korean Chamber of Commerce, Klitz discussed further possibilities of cooperation in regards to a regulatory framework of trade and investments. Representatives of two of the leading North Korean companies involved in mining and trading raw materials provided Klitz an insight of their trading activities with China. All conversations confirmed his assumption that deposits of natural resources, especially rare earth and molybdenum, are a lot higher than known in most parts of the world and that trade - so far - is completely monopolized by China. China buys resources for “political prices”, reprocesses the raw materials and later sells them on the world-market. The one-sided trade with China is already bringing in enormous piles of money.

Within the past five years of travelling to the DPRK, Klitz has steadily built up reliable working-relations with important representatives of the ruling Workers’ Party. In order to work inside the secretive country -  and to get to a position that allows to openly debate critical issues as well – it is important to frequently meet decision-makers, to try to understand the ratio behind the countries action and to build-up a certain level of trust. This is why, even on short trips, Klitz uses every opportunity to meet with high-ranking party officials. On his latest three-day trip he came together with the head of the European Desk of the International Department of the Worker’s Party three times for political talks. Once again he was impressed of his interlocutor’s level of up-to-date information on international as well German politics. Klitz pointed out, that the Western world would expect a strong signal of the DPRK’s commitment to denuclearization. His North Korean counterparts indefatigably expressed the DPRK’s readiness to bring forward the process of denuclearization and rapprochement under the principle of „action for action“, as agreed upon within the declaration of chief nuclear negotiators of the two Koreas, the US, China, Japan and Russia on September 19th, 2005.