World Friends Korea
Encyclopedia
World Friends Korea (Hangul
: 월드프렌즈코리아) is a Korean government-run overseas volunteer program that was inaugurated on May 7, 2009. Prior to this program, the Korean government conducted various types of volunteer programs under three different government Ministries. As establishing "World Friends Korea", the government of Korea
aims in unifying the different programs under a single overseas volunteer system. The program is similar to the American Peace Corps
program.
, Latin America
, the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS), and the Middle East
. The different Volunteer programs have been administered by the different Korean Ministries: KOICA Volunteers or KOV (Hangul
: KOICA 해외봉사단) by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
, Korea Internet Volunteers or KIV (Hangul
: 해외인터넷청년봉사단) by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security
, and Korea University Volunteers or KUV and Korea Techno Peace Corps or TPC (Hangul
: 대학생봉사단 및 개도국과학지원단) by the Ministry of Science, Education and technology.
The inauguration ceremony of World Friends Korea was held at Cheong Wa Dae
on May 7, 2009. World Friends Korea for the year 2010 was launched on May 12, 2010 with the President's congratulatory address. For 2010 World Friends Korea, Taekwondo
Peace Corps (Hangul
: 세계태권도평화봉사단) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism joined the program as well as retired experts and middle- and long-term advisers' group under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.
.
To do so, WFK has been restructuring its management system, for example, by improving connections between each program including cooperation in advocacy, recruiting, pre-departure training, in-country support, services for returned volunteers. WFK also cooperates with other donors and volunteer service providers from other countries to keep up with the international developments in various aspects of volunteering.
In addition, WFK coordinates that partner countries and priority sectors of volunteer programs could be chosen in line with Korean aid policy. WFK focuses on the least developed countries in Asia
- in particular ASEAN countries, Africa
n and Latin America
n regions. And its priority sectors are education
, health
, information technology
, and community development
. In each sector, volunteers focus on the exchange of technical skills, knowledge, and experience between volunteers and local residents.
The most well-known programs are:
Recent news says that Taekwondo
Peace Corps, Retired experts, and middle- and long-term advisers' Group joined WFK, providing new programs.
These days, Korean NGOs and private sectors are more actively involved in overseas volunteering than before. Corporates are more concerned with 'Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR)' (such as Hyundai
's 'Happy Move Volunteers', SK Group
's 'Sunny Volunteers') and universities are encouraging their students more involved in overseas volunteering.
Considering the importance of civil participation in volunteering, WFK is making a better effort to facilitate great civil involvement, establishing a more favorable environment for the general public to participate in overseas volunteering and coordinate more programs based on public-private partnership
.
Thus, since its launching, WFK has been making more intensive efforts to raise such recognition on overseas volunteering and draw greater social support through cooperation with the related organizations. Many Koreans have negative images on overseas volunteering. They believe that national development and domestic volunteering should come first, especially since Korea is the country that experienced great poverty even fifty years ago. To change their minds, WFK is presenting the good examples: overseas volunteering is valuable not only for receiving countries but also for Korea.
Also as overseas volunteering requires financial and professional commitment, WFK is trying to make a social support system in order for the public to join the programs more esaily. As one of the efforts, KOICA, in collaboration with related organizations and other governmental branches, is trying to establish a clause in the existing "Volunteering Act" to oblige public institutions to give voluntary work appropriate recognition as part of current and prospective employees' careers. WFK is also encouraging its partner universities to recognize the overseas volunteering by students as credit.
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 월드프렌즈코리아) is a Korean government-run overseas volunteer program that was inaugurated on May 7, 2009. Prior to this program, the Korean government conducted various types of volunteer programs under three different government Ministries. As establishing "World Friends Korea", the government of Korea
Government of South Korea
The Government of South Korea is divided into executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The executive and judicial branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and...
aims in unifying the different programs under a single overseas volunteer system. The program is similar to the American Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
program.
History of Korea Overseas Volunteers Program
Since its establishment in 1990, the Korea Overseas Volunteers Program has dispatched Korean nationals to partner countries to share expertise, knowledge, and experience in order to make practical contributions to poverty reduction and sustainable development. Up-to-date, more than 18,000 volunteers have served in developing countries including AsiaAsia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, the Commonwealth of Independent States
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
(CIS), and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. The different Volunteer programs have been administered by the different Korean Ministries: KOICA Volunteers or KOV (Hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: KOICA 해외봉사단) by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade may refer to:* New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade* Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade...
, Korea Internet Volunteers or KIV (Hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 해외인터넷청년봉사단) by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security
Ministry of Public Administration and Security
Ministry of Public Administration and Security is a ministry of the national government of South Korea. The ministry is in charge of the civil and domestic affairs in South Korea including the National Police Agency and the National Emergency Management Agency....
, and Korea University Volunteers or KUV and Korea Techno Peace Corps or TPC (Hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 대학생봉사단 및 개도국과학지원단) by the Ministry of Science, Education and technology.
Establishment of World Friends Korea
In order to enhance effectiveness of the contributions provided by the different overseas volunteer programs and offer a coherent and integrated image of the Korean volunteer program, the Korean government unified the separate volunteer programs previously operated by three different ministries into a single brand, World Friends Korea. World Friends Korea was named with the hope that the volunteers will become “a friend for those in need around the world.”The inauguration ceremony of World Friends Korea was held at Cheong Wa Dae
Cheong Wa Dae
The Cheongwadae or Blue House is the executive office and official residence of the South Korean head of state, the President of the Republic of Korea...
on May 7, 2009. World Friends Korea for the year 2010 was launched on May 12, 2010 with the President's congratulatory address. For 2010 World Friends Korea, Taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
Peace Corps (Hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 세계태권도평화봉사단) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism joined the program as well as retired experts and middle- and long-term advisers' group under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.
Objectives
The objectives of World Friends Korea are,- improving the living standards of people in host countries
- WFK shares with local residents expertise and know-how.
- strengthening the friendship and mutual understanding between Korea and host countries
- WFK promotes positive images of Korea through a variety of cultural exchanges.
- helping volunteers fulfill their potential through volunteer activities
- WFK cultivates mature global citizens who, being open-minded about multiculturalismMulticulturalismMulticulturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
in Korean society, contribute to the co-prosperity of mankind.
Framework
The new WFK framework brings the respective volunteer programs led by different Ministries and organizations together under the Office of the Prime Minister. The different volunteer programs are run independently as before but at the same time managed by the newly established "Subcommittee for Overseas Volunteers" within the Office of the Prime Minister. The Subcommittee is in charge of connecting relevant organizations and programs together as well as formulating medium- to long-term strategiesStrategy
Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...
.
Linking and Building Partnership for Synergy
The most important role for WFK is to connect and coordinate the relevant WFK organizations and their volunteer programs and build partnership so as to produce greater synergies.To do so, WFK has been restructuring its management system, for example, by improving connections between each program including cooperation in advocacy, recruiting, pre-departure training, in-country support, services for returned volunteers. WFK also cooperates with other donors and volunteer service providers from other countries to keep up with the international developments in various aspects of volunteering.
In addition, WFK coordinates that partner countries and priority sectors of volunteer programs could be chosen in line with Korean aid policy. WFK focuses on the least developed countries in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
- in particular ASEAN countries, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n regions. And its priority sectors are education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
, information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
, and community development
Community development
Community development is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities....
. In each sector, volunteers focus on the exchange of technical skills, knowledge, and experience between volunteers and local residents.
| WFK Priorities | |
|---|---|
| Education Education Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts... |
Health Health Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain... |
| WFK's largest program sector. Volunteers serving as Korean language teachers, vocational trainers, science, youth development and business instructors. | Volunteers providing maternal and child health care services, nutrition and hygiene messages, organizational support at community clinics, and education on preventing infections and vaccine-preventable diseases. |
| Information Technology Information technology Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications... |
Community Development Community development Community development is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities.... |
| Most open and flexible program. Volunteers providing technical training and support to school systems, ministries, businesses, municipal government offices and computer skill lessons including data processing in educational institutions. | Volunteers conducting community outreach programs and needs assessments to increase food production, improve farming techniques, and build community centers. |
Being a Gateway for More Diverse Volunteer Opportunities
WFK has been providing a wide spectrum of volunteering opportunities from long-time and intensive to short-time and more casual in various areas to as many as Koreans if only they are willing to, presenting more diverse and new volunteer programs.The most well-known programs are:
- Korea Overseas Volunteer Program (KOV)
- Korea Overseas Volunteer Program, which is managed by KOICA, is the core volunteer program of the Korean government. It has been providing two-year assignments for people between ages 20 ~ 65 to AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, the CISCISCIS usually refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, a modern political entity consisting of eleven former Soviet Union republics.The acronym CIS may also refer to:-Organizations:...
, and Middle EastMiddle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
(a total of 33 countries) since 1991. A KOV above 50 years old with expertise is called a ‘Senior KOV.’- Korea InternetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
Volunteer Program (KIV)
- Korea Internet
- Korea Internet Volunteer Program, which is managed by the Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity & Promotion (KADO), has been providing short-term ICT oriented assignments for young people, from 1 month to 1 year in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the CIS, and Europe since 2001.
- Korea University Volunteer Program (KUV)
- Korea University Volunteer Program, which is managed by Korea University Council for Social Service (KUCSS), has been providing short-term assignments for young people from a few weeks to five months in Asia and the CIS since 1997.
- Korea Techno Peace Corps Program (TPC)
- Korea Techno Peace Corps, which is managed by Korea Foundation for International Cooperation of Science and Technology (KICOS), has been providing one-year science and technology oriented assignments in the Asia-Pacific region since 2006.
Recent news says that Taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
Peace Corps, Retired experts, and middle- and long-term advisers' Group joined WFK, providing new programs.
Increasing Engagement With Various Actors - Public-Private Partnership
The central government-funded volunteering programs have been unified as World Friends Korea. As so, WFK has become the focal point that connects public volunteer programs with private.These days, Korean NGOs and private sectors are more actively involved in overseas volunteering than before. Corporates are more concerned with 'Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model...
(CSR)' (such as Hyundai
Hyundai
Hyundai ) is a global conglomerate company, part of the Korean chaebol, that was founded in South Korea by one of the most famous businessmen in Korean history: Chung Ju-yung...
's 'Happy Move Volunteers', SK Group
SK Group
SK Group is the third largest conglomerate in South Korea. The SK Group is composed of 92 subsidiary and affiliate companies that share the SK brand and culture....
's 'Sunny Volunteers') and universities are encouraging their students more involved in overseas volunteering.
Considering the importance of civil participation in volunteering, WFK is making a better effort to facilitate great civil involvement, establishing a more favorable environment for the general public to participate in overseas volunteering and coordinate more programs based on public-private partnership
Public-private partnership
Public–private partnership describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies...
.
Increasing Recognition on the Value of Overseas Volunteering
WFK sees that it is necessary to change the general negative perception on overseas volunteering and to provide the public with notion, the overseas volunteering is not only a meaningful and productive experience as personal experiences but also a duty as global citizens.Thus, since its launching, WFK has been making more intensive efforts to raise such recognition on overseas volunteering and draw greater social support through cooperation with the related organizations. Many Koreans have negative images on overseas volunteering. They believe that national development and domestic volunteering should come first, especially since Korea is the country that experienced great poverty even fifty years ago. To change their minds, WFK is presenting the good examples: overseas volunteering is valuable not only for receiving countries but also for Korea.
Also as overseas volunteering requires financial and professional commitment, WFK is trying to make a social support system in order for the public to join the programs more esaily. As one of the efforts, KOICA, in collaboration with related organizations and other governmental branches, is trying to establish a clause in the existing "Volunteering Act" to oblige public institutions to give voluntary work appropriate recognition as part of current and prospective employees' careers. WFK is also encouraging its partner universities to recognize the overseas volunteering by students as credit.