The Korea Herald Young Diplomats Academy and the Young Opinion Leaders’ Knowledge Forum -- youth camps tailored to live interaction with foreign diplomats, business leaders, renowned scholars and legal experts -- inspired future generations of leaders last month.

The venue at Yonsei International Campus in Songdo, Incheon, from Jan. 22-24 attracted over 200 students from the country’s elementary, middle and high schools, providing a platform for differentiated learning, discussion and communication in English.

For the academy, in its sixth year, German Ambassador to Korea Rolf Mafael and British Embassy spokesperson Nick Duvivier shared their experiences as diplomats, joined by several other professionals.

The program invites foreign diplomats in Korea to elucidate their acumen and knowledge on international issues and engage students, who are given opportunities to permanently publish their articles on The Korea Herald online website, receive awards by the paper’s chief executive officer and managing editor and be presented with volunteer certificates.

Titled “Life of a Diplomat: Excitement or Exhaustion,” Mafael expounded his career as Germany’s top envoy to Korea, highlighting his challenges and accomplishments in solving global issues for his country and the world.  

“The most important skill for a diplomat is having shrewd knowledge of people and politics,” the ambassador told students. “You have to meet experts in every field and examine, scrutinize and adjust to different situations for optimal results. Diplomacy is about striking a balance between diverse interests to produce an outcome acceptable to everyone.”

Mafael, who before joining the Foreign Service in 1985 worked as a state prosecutor, said his job was “extremely challenging,” yet also “incredibly interesting.” One of the main challenges of being an envoy according to him is moving to different countries for posting, which often requires family sacrifice, particularly for the spouse. 
 
He also explained key concepts such as multilateral and bilateral diplomacy, citing as examples the Paris climate agreement, the World Trade Organization, the Conference on Disarmament, the European Commission and the North Korean nuclear threat.

Students asked scores of questions, covering the new Cold War, Syrian refugees, inter-Korean relations and the ambassador’s own struggles, which he answered in depth with attention.

Germany, as a country that achieved national reunification in 1989 with erstwhile communist East Germany, shared its lessons to facilitate the Korean Peninsula’s anticipated unification, he noted, adding that the bilateral relations have been deepening comprehensively through political, economic, cultural, scientific and educational cooperation.

The young opinion leaders’ forum is for middle and high school students, and comprised of lectures by experts in law, media, business and diplomacy, among other fields. For more information on the next round of academy and forum, which will take place in August, visit www.heraldn.com or call (02) 1644-2676.

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)