The 29th Korea-Japan Forum, which was co-organized by JCIE and the Korea Foundation, was held via videoconference between Tokyo and Seoul. The meeting brought together over 40 leaders from across government and various sectors in both countries to discuss the future of Japan-Korea relations and to promote exchange in a wide range of fields including politics, economy, and culture.
The meeting was significant as the first forum meeting since Fumio Kishida’s election as Prime Minister of Japan, and it took place against the backdrop of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and rising US-China tensions. As such, forum sessions covered a wide range of topics, from discussions on Japanese and Korean responses to US-China relations and the evolving Indo-Pacific regional order, to Japan-Korea cooperation on economics and technology.
The forum also featured the 7th Japan-Korea Junior Forum and the 6th Japan-Korea Forum Awards Ceremony.
The 7th Korea-Japan Junior Forum was held in Seoul on November 29, prior to the start of the Korea-Japan Forum. University students from both countries discussed possibilities for next-generation exchange projects, including using new technologies. The Junior Forum finished with the students introducing their discussion points and proposals at the Korea-Japan Forum.
The 6th Japan-Korea Forum Award was presented to Ms. Yun-chan Shin, founder of the LSH Asia Scholarship Association, which provides scholarships to foreign students from Asia to study in Japan. Ms. Shin is the mother of Mr. Soo-hyun Lee, a university student who was killed in 2001 when he tried to save a man who had fallen onto the tracks at JR Shin-Okubo Station. At the award ceremony, Ms. Shin expressed her gratitude and said that she would like to continue to play a role as a link between Japan and Korea, following in the footsteps of her late son.
