October 24, 2018, the 17th German-Korean Forum was opened in Daejeon by the co-chairman Hartmut Koschyk and Kim Young-Jin. Among the participants were the ambassadors of Korea in Germany, Dr. Jong Bumgoo, of Germany in South Korea, Stephan Auer as well as the German Ambassador to North Korea, Pit Heltmann. Also, former German ambassador to South Korea Norbert Baas and German ambassador to North Korea, Doris Hertrampf, were present, as well as former German Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and the former South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-Sik. The head of the Korean-German friendship group in the Korean National Assembly, Lee Sang-min, as well as the head of the German-Korean Parliamentary group in the German Bundestag (Parliament), Katharina Landgraf, represented the parliaments of both countries. Dr. Bernhard Seliger and Kim Young-Soo were at the forum for Hanns-Seidel-Foundation Korea.
In his opening remarks, Hartmut Koschyk stressed the long, successful history of the German-Korean forum as a place to discuss common challenges, like the challenge of digitalization and “Industry 4.0”. However, he continued, the one question really moving people in the last months were the breathtaking events on the Korean Peninsula. He pleaded for a stronger German and European engagement for peace at the Korean Peninsula. He recalled that Germany under chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who was present at the forum, had been one of the first European states to actively engage with North Korea under the so-called sunshine policy of former South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung. Kim Young-jin, Korean co-chair of the forum and head of the Korean-German Society in Korea, drew parallels between German Ostpolitik and the concept of “Wandel durch Annäherung” (change through rapprochement) with the current strategy of Korea under President Moon Jae-In.
One of the peculiarities of the German-Korean forum is the parallel institution of the German-Korean junior forum, where young people of Germany and Korea are bringing together the views of the youth of both countries. This year, Hanns-Seidel-Foundation Korea organized a weeklong study program for the German participants of the junior forum to give them an introduction to the history, politics, economics and culture of Korea.