Vocational Training
Opportunities for North Korea? A visit to KoreaTech

During the discussion, the political changes and potential opportunities for KoreaTech, the Kaeseong Industrial District Foundation and the Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea Office to work together to promote vocational training in North Korea were also discussed.

HSS

Hanns Seidel Foundation is not only active on the Korean Peninsula, but in more than 60 countries around the globe. Sharing experiences from Germany with other countries in their own particular political and social peculiarities is a main task, while always promoting the core ideals of peace, democracy and development. While the German experiences of division and unification are of major interest in South Korea, worldwide the German system of vocational training is in strong demand. Both topics were discussed during a joint visit to KoreaTech, together with the Kaesong Industrial District Foundation, by HSF Korea.

Professor Park Haiwoong talks about KoreaTech.

HSS

KoreaTech is a university based near Cheonan dedicated to fostering highly competitive human resources through practical - training oriented engineering education. It offers a curriculum with theory studies and practical training in a 50/50 ratio for around 4 500 students who have the opportunity to develop their skills and qualifications also through practical trainings at corporations. A job placement rate 86.6% is an indicator of the demand of such practical educated students in South Korea.

Dr. Bernhard Seliger, the representative of HSF Korea and Felix Glenk, project manager for DPR Korea, were welcomed at KoreaTech.

HSS

On September 4, the representative of HSF Korea, Dr. Bernhard Seliger, and the Project Manager for DPR Korea, Felix Glenk, were invited by KoreaTech for a visit to discuss about potential cooperation. In light of the recent summits and rapprochement between the two Koreas, also KoreaTech is interested to become engaged with North Korea, in particular by providing vocational training to North Korean laborers. The visit was organized by the Kaeseong Industrial District Foundation (KIDF), which is dedicated to promote the related Kaeseong Industrial Zone, one of the few inter-Korean cooperation projects that was stalled due to political tensions in 2016. In the past and before the complex closed, there have also been attempts to provide vocational training to laborers in the zone.

Dr. Seliger talks about the Hanns Seidel Foundation and its work in locations all over the world.

HSS

During the visit, the President of KoreaTech, Dr. Kim Ki-Young welcomed the guests of HSF Korea and the university was introduced. Afterwards, Dr. Bernhard Seliger presented on the work of HSF Korea, and also worldwide. He referred to several projects in China by the Hanns Seidel Foundation that focus on vocational training. During the discussion, also the political changes were addressed, and potential opportunities how KoreaTech, the Kaeseong Industrial District Foundation and Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea could work jointly together to support vocational training in North Korea.