Joint Efforts to Deepen the Public Understanding of the Korean Government’s Foreign and National Security Policies

1. On March 30, 2021, the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Korea Economic Institute (KEI) in the United States to expand cooperation between the two institutes.

※ Established in Washington D.C. in 1982, KEI is a think tank dedicated to promoting the American public’s understanding of Korean diplomacy in various fields - national security, culture, and economy.

o IFANS President OH Youngju and KEI President Kathleen STEPHENS signed and exchanged a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

※ President Kathleen Stephens served as U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Korea from 2008 to 2011.

2. The MoU primarily aims to build a research network between the two institutes and to improve the American public’s access to English publications produced by IFANS, a top foreign policy and national security think tank under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, via KEI’s official website. This is a meaningful step forward as research on and analysis of the Korean government’s foreign policy and its stance on pending diplomatic issues are anticipated to be put to use more widely in the U.S.

o The two sides expect their cooperation to deepen the American public’s understanding of the Korean government’s foreign and national security policies, ultimately helping to buoy favorable public sentiment toward Korea in the U.S.

3. IFANS will continue efforts at enhancing its public awareness campaigns to boost the domestic and foreign audience’s understanding of the Korean government’s foreign and national security policies through the publication and distribution of its research efforts.