Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Seoul | Regional Office East Asia / Global Dialogue

🌏 How can Japan and Korea work more closely with Germany in an increasingly uncertain global environment? To explore this question, the Heinrich Böll Foundation convened stakeholders and experts from Japan and Korea in Berlin for a timely and important exchange with German counterparts on the evolving global security landscape. Some highlights from the discussions included, 1. A public panel discussion on the role of middle powers in an increasingly complex strategic environment. 2. Closed-door roundtables addressing the growing interconnectedness of traditional and non-traditional security challenges, including climate change and emerging technologies. 3. Exchanges with policy makers, government officials and German think tanks on how perspectives on the changing security architecture differ and converge, where new partnerships can emerge, and how existing cooperation can be strengthened. 4. A fishbowl discussion with female experts on the rise and impact of AI, misinformation, disinformation, and fake news. A sincere thank you to all participants and partners for their insights, engagement, and willingness to contribute to these important conversations. Strengthening resilient and cooperative approaches to shared challenges begins with dialogue, and this was an important step in that direction. For a glimpse into our discussions, please check out our public panel session 👉 https://lnkd.in/g3QCVcQq #HeinrichBöllFoundation #EastAsiaEurope #GlobalSecurity #Geopolitics #EconomicSecurity #ClimateSecurity #Democracy #CivilSociety

25th of June, around 15 participants joined the author talk with Volker Kitz and Cho Ki-hyun. Drawing on their personal experiences of caring for parents with dementia, both speakers invited the audience to reflect on how we stay present for each moment and for one another when we never know when our final chance to say goodbye may come. As we face the climate crisis, the rapid rise of AI, and an aging population, it is becoming increasingly clear that our society can no longer postpone a serious conversation about care. Paradoxically, the more influential artificial intelligence becomes, the more important human interdependence, empathy, and care for one another will be. We hope this conversation serves as a starting point for broader discussions on care and solidarity in the years ahead. #VolkerKitz #ChoKiHyun #AuthorTalk #Care #CareWork #Interdependence #Solidarity #Community #SocialChange #HeinrichBoellFoundation

On June 18, the Heinrich Böll Foundation East Asia Office took part in a dialogue with the East Asia Institute (EAI) to discuss key international developments in the context of shifting U.S.-China relations. The exchange brought together Korean, German, and European perspectives on current geopolitical challenges and explored potential areas for future collaboration. Representing the Heinrich Böll Foundation were Ella Soesanto(Senior Program Officer of the Asia Division), Arthur Tarnowski(Representative of the Beijing Office) and Haeun Yoon(Program Manager for Foreign and Security Policy at the East Asia Office). The delegation visited EAI and engaged in discussions with Inhwan Oh, Executive Director and Senior Research Fellow at the East Asia Institute. #HeinrichBöllFoundation #EastAsiaInstitute #EastAsia #Geopolitics #ForeignPolicy #InternationalDialogue

💡 As generative artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly shapes democracy, human rights, and everyday life, AI governance has become one of the most important public issues in South Korea. In this context, the Heinrich Böll Foundation East Asia Office spoke with Yeo-Kyeong Chang, Executive Director of the Institute for Digital Rights (IDR), about the challenges and opportunities of AI governance, digital rights, and democratic oversight of emerging technologies. You can check the interview on the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s main website. (Link on our bio) As debates around AI continue to evolve globally, the perspectives of civil society are more important than ever. #AIGovernance #DigitalRights #HumanRights #Democracy #ArtificialIntelligence #CivilSociety #SouthKorea #HeinrichBoellFoundation #IDR https://lnkd.in/gvpTDy63

🌏 As South Korea accelerates its push toward becoming one of the world’s “Top 3 AI Powers,” debates around AI governance, democracy, and digital rights are becoming increasingly urgent. Heinrich Böll Foundation East Asia Office has met one of South Korea’s leading civil society activists, who has long worked to defend digital rights and information human rights in South Korea. In our interview with Yeo-kyeong Chang, Executive Director of the Institute for Digital Rights (IDR), we discussed the history of Korea’s information rights movement, the growing influence of AI on human rights and everyday life, and the challenges civil society faces in responding to industry-driven AI policies. The conversation also explores why AI policy should be understood not only as industrial policy, but as social policy raising critical questions about democracy, labor, participation, and justice in the age of artificial intelligence. 👉 Read Our Article: https://lnkd.in/geEQDTe3

[Invitation] Can care become a shared social responsibility rather than an individual burden? Join a special conversation with Volker Kitz, author of Alte Eltern: I Decided to Stay Kind to You Until the End, a book that quietly reflects on aging parents, care, and loss. Together with writer Ki-hyun Cho, who has long advocated for the social recognition of young carers in Korea, the discussion will explore how we might rethink care beyond the private sphere across family, community, and the state and imagine the possibility of a more caring society. 🗣 Speakers : Volker Kitz (Author), Ki-hyun Cho (Writer & Director of Care Community N-inbun) 📅 Date & Time : 25 June (Thu) | 19:20–21:00 📍 Venue : Chaegro Book Cafe, 6F (31 Mapodaero 3da-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul)  🌐 Language : English–Korean consecutive interpretation ✍️ Apply https://lnkd.in/guWg_xNi

Enforced disappearance remains one of the gravest human rights violations under international law. As South Korea moves toward implementing the UN International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, important questions emerge. How can domestic legislation ensure prevention, accountability, and remedies for victims? And what role can South Korea play in advancing global justice and human rights standards in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond? We were honored to welcome #GabriellaCitroni, Chair of the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, for this timely discussion marking the 20th anniversary of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (#CED20). Thank you to everyone who joined us in reflecting on memory, justice, accountability, and the protection of human rights. #EnforcedDisappearances #HumanRights #CED20 #SouthKorea #TransitionalJustice #RuleOfLaw #Democracy #UNConvention #BoellFoundation

🌏 Across continents and cultures, a new generation is redefining what democracy looks like. From city squares to digital platforms, young people are organizing, resisting, creating and demanding systems that truly reflect their voices and realities. Far from signaling political apathy, these movements reveal a powerful global desire for participation, justice and collective transformation. This dossier highlights the energy, creativity and resilience of Gen Z-led movements that have emerged since the early 2020s. Through protests, online activism, art and community organizing, young people are shaping new democratic imaginaries and challenging existing structures of power. 👉 Read the full dossier and explore the stories behind today’s youth movements. https://lnkd.in/d9k5hcsj #GenZ #YouthMovements #Democracy #SocialJustice #DigitalActivism #YouthVoices #GlobalChange #PoliticalParticipation #FutureOfDemocracy #Activism

𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥: 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺, 𝘒𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘢, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 📅 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟴 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 | 𝟲:𝟬𝟬–𝟴:𝟬𝟬 𝗽𝗺 (𝗖𝗘𝗧) 📍  Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Berlin & Livestream 🗣️ Language: English Registration: https://lnkd.in/dZBnjnwm In an increasingly fragmented geopolitical landscape, the connections between economic security, technological competition, and military strategy are becoming impossible to ignore. Russia’s war against Ukraine, rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, growing concerns over critical infrastructure and supply chains, and intensifying great-power rivalry are reshaping how democracies think about security, resilience, and international cooperation. For countries such as Japan, South Korea and Germany these developments raise urgent strategic questions: How can open and export-oriented democracies protect their economic and technological sovereignty while preserving openness and international cooperation? What role can middle powers play in defending multilateralism and a rules-based international order under growing geopolitical pressure? And how can partnerships move beyond symbolic alignment toward practical and sustained cooperation? Together with experts from Germany, Japan, and South Korea, we will discuss how democratic partners are adapting to a rapidly changing security environment and what this means for future trilateral cooperation across Europe and the Indo-Pacific. 𝘛𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦: ▪️ Economic security and strategic dependencies ▪️ Technology, innovation, and security convergence ▪️ Supply chain resilience and critical infrastructure ▪️ Multilateralism and the future of the rules-based international order ▪️ Europe–Indo-Pacific security linkages ▪️ Democratic resilience in times of geopolitical fragmentation 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩: • 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗡𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 (Alliance 90/The Greens) • 𝗛𝗶𝘁𝗼𝘀𝗵𝗶 𝗦𝘂𝘇𝘂𝗸𝗶 (Institute for Geo-Economics) • 𝗘𝘂𝗻𝗷𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗶𝗺 (Kongju National University) • 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗢𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗱 (Federal Foreign Office) Moderated by 𝗝𝗼𝗲𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗵𝘂 (Global Public Policy Institute) Participation on site is possible upon registration. The event will also be livestreamed. We look forward to an engaging discussion on how democratic partners can strengthen cooperation and contribute to a more stable, resilient, and rules-based international order. #Germany #Japan #SouthKorea #IndoPacific #EconomicSecurity #Geopolitics #ForeignPolicy #SecurityPolicy #Multilateralism #RulesBasedOrder #Democracy #InternationalRelations