Summary
Activities in November and December
Guest Commentary - Politics of Targeted Provocation
The article with the title "Politics of Targeted Provocation" (Orig. "Politik der gezielten Provokation", only available in German) was published in "Fuldaer Zeitung" on 23 November 2020. Dr. Bernhard Seliger, Resident Representative of HSF Korea, wrote a guest commentary about the situation and expectations on the Korean Peninsula after the US-elections.
The article is available only in German and you can read the detailed version on our Facebook page here.
2020 East Sea International Development Forum - Development of Northeast Asia After the Covid-19 Crisis
On November 23, 2020 East Sea International Development Forum was held virtually online due to the spread of COVID-19 and Dr. Bernhard Seliger took part in discussing cooperation strategies among Northeast Asia and had a presentation. He stated that only environmental exchange is possible since COVID-19 blocked opportunities for inter-Korean cooperation. Dr. Seliger added HSF Korea’s prospect in terms of environmental protection and collaboration between North and South Korea.
HSF Korea has been actively carrying out programs for regional education in the environment sector.
You can check the details of the presentation on our Facebook page here.
Article about the symposium by Kangwon News can be found here (Korean).
Joongang Sunday Article
30 years ago, on December 2 in 1990, the first election under the newly integrated Germany took place. Although the idea of populism rose after the fall of socialism, unified Germany had a stable democracy. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of German reunification, an article on Dr. Seliger’s interview with Joongang Sunday was published on December 5. He explained the controversies after the unification since “the political background became more complex and development in former socialist countries in Eastern Europe have been quite different.” Furthermore, Dr. Seliger questioned the acceptance of North Korea’s legacy after the Korean unification comparing to the conflicts experienced by East and West Germany after reunification.
You can read the original article of Joongang Sunday here (Korean).
2020 Gimpo Peace Forum
On the 10th of December, an interview of Dr. Seliger was in 2020 Gimpo Peace Forum live YouTube broadcast. The forum discussed how Gimpo city should contribute to the inter-Korean exchange. Dr. Seliger stressed the importance of Gimpo city in terms of reunification on the Korean Peninsula, saying “Gimpo city is a significant region in that it is the first region to go through whatever happens in the border area as it is located near the Han River.” In addition, he proposed to prepare for individual exchanges rather than big-scaled projects to continue further on cooperation with North Korea.
You can see the full video of the forum here (Korean).
Meeting with Officers from Gyeonggi-Do
On 11 December 2020, the officers form Gyeoggi-do visited HSF Korea to discuss future cooperation in the field of agriculture and livestock on the Korean Peninsula. Gyeonggi-do supported Kaepung tree nursey, greenhouse vegetable facilities for the inter-Korean cooperation and also established International Peace Centre in 2020. HSF Korea and Gyeonggi-do reviewed the cooperation and future direction focusing on the livestock and agriculture.
Visit by Br. Benedikt A. Hülsmann OSB
Br. Benedikt A. Hülsmann OSB is the new parish priest of the German-Language Catholic Community in Seoul since November 2020. On November 23, he visited HSF Korea and met with Dr. Seliger sharing warm regards and blessings for going through difficult times in the recent pandemic.