By Honorary Reporter Volga Serin Suleymanoglu from Turkiye (Turkey)

The inaugural Korea-Africa Summit introduced many African cultures to Korea. 

One Kenyan and five Korean youths helped out at the event as members of the 2024 Korea-Africa Foundation (KAF) Supporters.

The following are excerpts from an email interview with them from June 5-17.  

The 2024 Korea-Africa Foundation Supporters (from left to right) are Lim Seo-jin, Choi Eun-jung, Joshua Wera, Nam Gyu-yeon and Lee Se-hee with foundation official Jeon Seung-eun. (Joshua Wera)

Briefly introduce yourself.
Lim Seo-jin: I am a sociology major at Kookmin University with a double major in English for global communication. I am interested in sociological imagination and relations between individuals and society.

Choi Eun-jung: I am an economics major at Yonsei University and my fields of interest are culture, education and economics.

Joshua Wera: I am a Kenyan director of independent film based in Seoul. My interest is creating collaborative projects between Korea and Kenya, mainly through film, documentaries and art curation.

Nam Gyu-yeon: I am majoring in Arabic and political diplomacy with an interest in North African countries and Islam in Africa.

Kim Se-yon: I have a bachelor's in energy resource engineering and work as a research assistant at Power Systems Lab. I am passionate about contributing to access to electricity in Africa through renewable energy.

What are the main objectives of the 2024 KAF Supporters?
Wera: We consist of 20 Korean and five African youths from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea and Kenya. For six months from February to July this year, the team promotes Africa in Korea by creating related social media content and conducting youth exchanges. Overall, the content covers cultural aspects of Africa and major economic and social issues.

Nam: While working as a KAF Supporter, I realized that the goal was to bring Korea and Africa closer through active youth exchange.

Why did you join the group and what experiences did you have?

Choi: My interest in learning and experiencing cultural diversity inspired me to join. Upon returning to Korea after living abroad, I realized Korean society had less cultural diversity, so I decided to join.

Recently, our supporters attended an event hosted by the Green Global Growth Institute for the Korea-Africa Summit. I got to interact with Koreans interested in Africa as well as Africans, allowing me to learn more about African culture.

Kim: My interest in Africa began during my internship at an international organization, where I supported water security projects in Africa. This experience inspired me to join the program to broaden my knowledge of Africa.

By staying informed about African news and conducting interviews with professors involved in energy projects in Africa, I raised my academic knowledge, particularly about environmental issues in Africa.

KAF Supporters try drums at the Kumbaya Africa Percussion Group Office in Seoul. (KAF)

Why is cultural exchange between Korea and Africa important? How can the summit boost ties between the two sides?

Lim: Cultural exchange between Korea and Africa is important as culture is the foundation of everything. The Korea-Africa Summit can influence Koreans with little interest in Africa. Friends and family around me showed interest by asking questions about African culture.

Kim: Cultural exchange, particularly among youth, is crucial to form a genuine and lasting connection between Korea and Africa.

What were your goals for participating in the Korea-Africa Summit?

Wera: My primary goal was taking pictures and videos at the High-Level Forum on Accelerating Access to Green & Climate Finance for Africa headlined by former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. I also gained a lot of insight from the speakers there.

Kim: My main goals were networking with people from or interested in Africa to discuss ideas on energy in Africa. It was inspiring to see how many people are passionate about strengthening the relationship between Korea and Africa.

Lim Seo-jin and Nam Gyu-yeon speak to Sudanese Ambassador to Korea Amira Agarib at the 2024 Korea-Africa Film Festival in Seoul. (Joshua Wera)

How did the KAF Supporters prepare for the summit?

Lim: I made a brochure based on news slides I previously made and interviewed Ihab Ayed, president of the Tunisian Ice Hockey Association. For the first time, Tunisia took part in the Youth Olympic Games after its athletes learned sledding in Korea and won a medal.

Kim: I compiled my monthly content on environmental topics such as the hydrogen industry, power systems and the Congo Basin and edited them into a cohesive brochure.

How do you see the future of Korea-Africa relations after the summit?

Lim: This inaugural summit between Korea and Africa saw the signing of 34 memorandums of understanding. So I look forward to promoting steady relations with Africa.

Wera: I believe that in the coming years, the Korean government will continuously expand its presence in Africa and more African products will appear on the Korean market.

msjeon22@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.