Yeongdeungpo-gu and Seoul Tongil Education Center Sign Peaceful Unification Business Agreement

Community Unification Education and Peaceful Unification Atmosphere Expected to Foster Mutual Exchange and Cooperation Activities

Yeom Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo District (right), and Lim Hong-jae, Director of the Seoul Unification Education Center (left), signed a business agreement for "Support of Unification Education and Inter-Korean Exchange Cooperation Activities" at Kookmin University, the entrusted institution of the Seoul Unification Education Center.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Chae Hyun-il) signed a "Memorandum of Understanding for Supporting Unification Education and Inter-Korean Exchange Cooperation Activities" on the 16th with the Seoul Unification Education Center designated by the Ministry of Unification, becoming the first among the 25 autonomous districts of Seoul to do so.

This agreement was made with the purpose of establishing a mutual cooperation foundation to develop detailed and diverse exchange cooperation projects at the local government level, such as raising unification awareness among Yeongdeungpo residents and promoting a culture of peace and unification, based on the Seoul Unification Education Center's expertise in inter-Korean exchange and peaceful unification.

Kookmin University has been selected as the Seoul Regional Unification Education Center for six consecutive years from March 2016 to February 2022, entrusted with operating the dedicated unification education center for the Seoul area, and has been devoted to unification-related research and activities through the Korea Future Research Institute affiliated with Kookmin University.

The Seoul Unification Education Center has mainly focused on various unification education projects targeting the general public and youth, such as open unification lectures, expert forums, field experience learning (Jeju Peace Park, etc.), the Unification Marronnier Festival, and National Unification Day (including North Korean food tasting sessions and unification debate competitions).

At the signing ceremony held on the 16th, seven officials including Yeongdeungpo District Mayor Chae Hyun-il, Seoul Unification Education Center Director (Kookmin University President) Lim Hong-jae, Vice President of Industry-Academia Research Park Park Chan-ryang, and Director of the Korea Future Research Institute Park Jung-won attended. They signed an agreement focusing on ▲ cooperation to spread peace and unification culture ▲ cooperation to promote unification education ▲ promotion and dissemination of achievements of peace and unification education and cultural projects, and discussed implementation and future plans for cooperation.

Furthermore, in October this year, the first cooperative project jointly promoted by Yeongdeungpo-gu and the Seoul Unification Education Center is scheduled to be held as a musical talk concert. Part 1 will feature a lecture titled "Asking the New Direction of Unification Education Toward an Era of Peace and Prosperity," Part 2 will include an orchestral performance expressing hopes for peaceful unification, and Part 3 will present the original musical "That Day, We."

The district previously operated a "Children's Peace Camp for Unification Prayer" for two days in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in 2018, conducting experiential learning on the themes of peace, unification, and ecology. In November 2019, it launched the "Inter-Korean Exchange Cooperation Committee," which oversees inter-Korean exchange cooperation projects, fund management, and provides review and advisory roles for supporting private exchanges, striving to establish a foundation for peace on the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean exchange cooperation.

Yeongdeungpo District Mayor Chae Hyun-il stated, "The agreement with the Seoul Unification Education Center, a specialized institution for unification education, is an extremely meaningful opportunity to participate in peace on the Korean Peninsula," adding, "We will take the lead in preparing for the unification era by carrying out various cooperative projects to foster a peaceful unification atmosphere."

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