Korea Foundation

The Korea Foundation (KF) was established in 1991, and has been Korea’s leading public diplomacy institution that is devoted to enhancing understanding about Korea abroad and facilitating international interactions between Korea and the world. The KF’s public diplomacy initiatives include its active support for overseas Korean Studies and Koreanists and support for cultural exchanges between Korea and the world, along with the promotion of people-to-people interactions with a variety of forum events and intellectual exchange programs. The KF endeavors to promulgate objective facts and knowledge about Korea that are not yet part of the dominant international discourses, such as the recognition of Korea as a “pivotal middle power,” which because of its late modernization is uniquely situated to understand the quite different situations of both the developed and developing countries; and hence, for example, should play an important role in helping mediate disputes that are an increasing threat to international peace.