National Diplomacy Supporters Hold Launch Ceremony for Busan 'UNs'

Busan City, together with the Busan International Exchange Foundation (Secretary General Hwang Gi-sik) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minister Park Jin), will hold the launch ceremony of the Busan National Diplomacy Supporters ‘UNs’ at 1:30 PM on the 28th at the Busan Eurasia Platform.

Busan City Hall.

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‘UNs’ is a group of domestic and international university (graduate) students from the Busan area who serve as Busan national diplomacy supporters to promote UN-related events such as ‘Busan UN Week,’ held in Busan, the only city in the world with a UN Memorial Cemetery, and to spread the spirit of peace.

First formed in 2020, they have continued their activities annually, and since last year, they have also supported and promoted the bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo.

The newly launched UNs this year consist of a total of 100 members: 50 Korean university (graduate) students from the Busan area and 50 international students from 24 countries including Canada, the Dominican Republic, Russia, Mexico, Mongolia, and Bangladesh.

As the scope of UNs’ activities has expanded from national diplomacy to also include promotion of the 2030 Busan World Expo bid since last year, the number of selected members has increased from 25 annually to 100.

The launch ceremony will be attended by about 100 people including the 2023 UNs, Min Jae-hoon, Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs National Diplomacy Center, Hwang Young-ha, Director of the City’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Division, and Hwang Gi-sik, Secretary General of the International Exchange Foundation. Various events will be held to announce the launch of UNs, including opening remarks, greetings, UNs activity aspirations, appointment certificate presentation, fingerprint performance, and a lecture titled ‘Visiting National Diplomacy Empathy Factory.’

In particular, during the launch event, the ‘Visiting National Diplomacy Empathy Factory’ will feature a lecture by Min Jae-hoon, Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs National Diplomacy Center, on the theme ‘Diplomacy with the People, National Diplomacy,’ followed by a communication session with UNs.

Starting with this launch ceremony, UNs will actively carry out their activities as university student national diplomacy supporters through various promotional channels of Busan City and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until the end of the year, including ▲ public promotion of national diplomacy and public diplomacy ▲ support and promotion of the 2023 Busan UN Week event ▲ promotion of the 2030 Busan World Expo bid.

Hwang Gi-sik, Secretary General of the Busan International Exchange Foundation, said, “The competition rate for UNs recruitment this year was higher than last year, which means that many future generations empathize with the importance of global cooperation and region-led public diplomacy.” He added, “Our foundation will also actively reflect these trends and continue efforts to contribute not only to branding Busan but also to solving various diplomatic issues and global challenges.”

Hwang Young-ha, Director of the City’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Division, said, “Our city has signed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding for Joint Promotion of National Diplomacy’ with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and opened the Busan National Diplomacy Center, doing its best to revitalize national diplomacy, strengthen the global capabilities of Busan citizens, and expand participation in diplomatic policies.” He added, “We hope that the newly selected UNs will take pride as core personnel of region-led public diplomacy and as ambassadors who will lead ‘Busan, the City at the Center of World Peace,’ demonstrating their abilities with passionate enthusiasm.”

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