FES activities

The Korea Cooperation Office
The collaboration between Korean organizations and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung began in the late 1960s with the opening of an office in Seoul. While the form of partnership has changed over the years the basic aims and objectives have not changed. In Korea we want to foster dialogue between Korean and German institutions towards identifying appropriate policies, and towards identifying the most appropriate relationship between Korea and Germany, Korea and Europe and Asia and Europe. The Foundation wants to contribute towards a social and pluralistic democracy and the adoption of socially balanced economic policies as a way to sustainable development.

Collaboration with government and research institutions
One of the most outstanding programs of the recent past has been the collaboration with the Ministry of Unification in organizing long-term study tours for Korean government officials to Germany to study issues concerning the German unification process. There have been numerous seminars, workshops and symposia about unification with other korean partner organizations.

Development and trade issues have been discussed in the past at conferences with organizations like the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, the Korea Development Institute, and the German-Korean Society of Economists. A large number of publications and more recently an online-library have made the research presented at such conferences available for a wider audience.

Collaboration concerning industrial relation
Historically, activities of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Korea have started with organizing seminars and conferences together with the Korean trade unions movement. This has always been an important aspect of the work of the Foundation. Today the FES jointly organizes workshops, conferences, research projects with the national centers of the trade union movement. The FES collaborates with research institutions like the Korea Labor Institute, the Korea Labor and Society Institute, the Federation of Korean Trade Research Center and university-affiliated structures in running research projects and hosting conferences. A wide range of publications covering all important aspects of industrial relations has been produced.

Collaboration with civil society
The Foundation has joined hands with a number of highly committed organizations of civil society: FES collaborated with women organizations to address gender-issues. Especially the political participation of women played an important role. Together with People's Solidarity for Particpatory Democracy (PSPD) workshops on important governance issues have been organized. Women Link has been partner in looking at the role of women in the work place. More recently environmental issues have been added to the list of issues which warrant joint conferences with local civil society groups.

Scholarships
With the beginning of the international work of the Foundation Koreans have benefited from the scholarship program the FES offers for talented foreign students who are interested in studying in Germany. More than 130 former recipients of scholarships are now back in Korean universities playing an important role in teaching and education.