Monday, October 19, in Berlin the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the Communist Dictatorship (Bundesstiftung Aufarbeitung) organized a seminar on the way, national division is perceived in Korea, where Dr. Bernhard Seliger, representative of Hanns-Seidel-Foundation Korea, reported about his experiences in North and South Korea. Dr. Jens Hüttmann, Vice Secretary General of Bundesstiftung Aufarbeitung, moderated the meeting. Other discussants were Hon. Hartmut Koschyk, Member of the German Parliament, Chairman of the German-Korean Parliamentary Group and President of the German-Korean Society, Dr. des. You-Jae Lee of Bonn University, and Young-Il Kim, director of the NGO People for the Successful Reunification of Corea (PSCORE), an organization bringing young North Korean defectors and South Korean students together and himself coming from North Korea. At the seminar Dr. Seliger recommend the integration of defectors, like in PSCORE, into the unification strategy of South Korea, since they best understood the challenges of overcoming division.

The Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the communist dictatorship has been several times partner of Hanns-Seidel-Foundation Korea in the joint organization of seminars for South Korean scientists, civil servants and politicians. In particular, the poster exhibition of young German art and design students with the topics “division” and “we are one nation”, based on a competition by the Foundation Reappraisal, has been shown in more than ten Korean universities, in the National Assembly and in the German Embassy in Seoul.

Seminar material
Seminar report
Download Audio file of Dr.Seliger's presentation

Seminar participants

Presenters of seminar: (Second from the left) Rep. Kim Young-il, Dr.Jens Hüttmann, Hon.Hartmut Koschyk