By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Stephanie Pradnyaparamita from Indonesia
Photos = Stephanie Pradnyaparamita

The Korean Embassy in Indonesia has launched this month the program Sahabat Korea (literally meaning "Korea’s close friends"), an initiative to support social media users to digitally promote the embassy’s activities and foster a positive image of Korea, especially among millennials under age 30.

Among the 928 young people who applied, only 100 were accepted (including lucky me). The program's purpose is to encourage participants to spread the word about how Korea works here through its embassy in Jakarta. The people accepted hailed from a wide variety of backgrounds such as market researcher (myself), designer, engineer, animator and dancer. The hope is that the various perspectives from such numerous backgrounds can cover information from all sectors related to Korea.

The embassy hosted the launching ceremony, with participants trying on Hanbok (traditional Korean costumes) prior to the event or getting to know each other since many were from across Indonesia. The ceremony began with traditional Korean dance and K-pop cover dance performances followed by speeches from Korean Ambassador Kim Chang-Beom and Indonesian Foreign Ministry official Edi Yusup.

Yusup said Indonesia and Korea not only have "a very positive relationship" in business, industry and the digital economy but also personal ties between their presidents, Joko Widodo of Indonesia and Moon Jae-in of Korea. He also mentioned a time when both leaders talked from morning to night.

Yusup welcomed the embassy's new program and said he hopes that positive bilateral relations also develop on a people-to-people level.

The Korea Tourism Organization, Korean Cultural Center and Korea Culture and Creative Agency also gave presentations on what they do and how Korea is seen from their sector. Furthermore, Sahabat Korea members were divided into groups for workshops, in which they learned more about what the three organizations do in Jakarta and proposed ideas on improving bilateral ties.

The ceremony ended with a photo op for everyone in attendance and the awarding of certificates of appointment to all Sahabat Korea participants.



wisdom117@korea.kr

* This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.