Depok, In commemorating 50 years of cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea, FISIP UI and Korea Foundation held an international conference attended by the Director of Korea Foundation, the Dean of Faculty of Social and Political Science of the University of Indonesia, the South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia, the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. The conference was titled The Indonesia-Korea Golden Anniversary Conference: Strengthening Partnership for Tomorrow. The event will occur on May 11, 2023, at the Mochtar Riady Auditorium, FISIP UI 2nd Floor, 09.00-17.30 WIB.
The conference was opened with opening & honorary speeches from representatives of Indonesia and South Korea. From South Korea, the opening was delivered by the Director of the Korea Foundation (Mr. Choi Hyun-so) and the South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia (H.E Lee Sang-deok). From Indonesia, remarks were delivered by the Dean of Faculty of Social and Political Science the University of Indonesia (Prof. Dr. Semiarto Aji Purwanto) and the Ministry of Tourism representatives. In this opening, the message was from the speaker representing Indonesia so that the cultural economy sector in Indonesia can be further developed by learning from South Korea. Another message from Mr. Choi is that after this conference, the sectors that are the topic of this conference between the two countries can be more sustain.
Furthermore, the event continued with a discussion session. The discussion was divided into three panels with different themes. Academics from Indonesia and South Korea attended the discussion. The first theme was Assessing the Development of Indonesian Studies in Korea and Korean Studies in Indonesia. This session will discuss strategies and challenges in institutionalizing the academic world to develop in Indonesia and South Korea to learn each other’s cultures. The speakers in this session were Prof. Choi Kyunghee from Seoul National University Asia Center and Dr. Eva Latifah from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, University of Indonesia. In this session, there were also chairs, namely Prof. Koh Young Hun from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and others acted as discussants, namely Prof. Shin Young Duk from the Indonesian University of Education and Dr. Zaini from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FCS) University of Indonesia.
Then, the discussion continued after the lunch session. There are two themes of discussion in this international conference. The second theme discusses pop culture’s socioeconomic issues, entitled
Socioeconomic Impact of Pop Culture – Lessons Learned from Korean Experience. This session discusses lessons learned from the development of the Korean Wave, which had had a significant impact on the world, one of which is by the Korean boy group BTS. In addition to music, other cultural sectors are developing in film, food, beauty, and others that are also proliferating. In this session, the speakers from the South Korean side were Prof. Andrew Eungi Kim from the College of International Studies, Korea University, and from Indonesia by Mr. Makbul Mubarak, a director and screenwriter. The chair of this discussion was Endah Triastuti, Ph.D. from FISIP UI. At the same time, the discussant was Prof. Rha Kyungsoo from Gakushuin Women’s College, Tokyo, and Anggia Utami Dewi, Ph.D. from FISIP Universitas Padjajaran.
Finally, the discussion session was closed; the theme of the discussion was entitled Korea-Indonesia Special Strategic Relations: Present and Future. This session discusses strategies and potential sectors that can be explored to become innovations that positively impact both Indonesia and South Korea. Speakers attended the discussion, namely Prof. Cho Wondeuk from the Center for ASEAN-Indian Studies, Korean National Diplomatic Academy, and Mr. Vahd Nabyl A. Mulachela, the East Asia Director of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This discussion was led by Dwi Ardhanariswari Sundrijo, Ph.D. from FISIP UI, and the discussion was by Prof. Ko Young Kyung from ASEAN Center and Prof. Evi Fitriani from FISIP UI.
In conclusion, from this event, the expectation is that cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea will further develop innovation more sustain in the future in terms of academic, socio-cultural, and diplomacy. In addition, relationships between stakeholders, from academics, researchers, practitioners, government, and others, will be increasingly close in developing innovations from other potential sectors between Indonesia and South Korea.
