1. The third meeting of the Republic of Korea-China Joint Committee on Humanities Exchanges was held on Jeju Island on December 23, with First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Lim Sung-nam and Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Zhenmin leading their respective delegations. The meeting was attended by representatives from 26 organizations, including relevant ministries, agencies and local governments of the two countries.

o As a side event of the meeting, the launching ceremony of a white paper of the ROK-China Joint Committee on Humanities Exchanges and the unveiling ceremony of the Committee’s logo also took place.

2. In the meeting, Vice Minister Lim Sung-nam said that since its creation in 2013, the ROK-China Joint Committee on Humanities Exchanges has made significant progress in establishing institutional foundations, expanding the quantity and scope of humanities exchanges, and promoting participation by people from various sectors. Vice Minister Lim also proposed that the two countries continue to work together to make more substantive progress in bilateral humanities exchanges and to further expand their scope.

o Vice Minister Liu Zhenmin agreed with Vice Minister Lim’s view, and offered to develop the ROK-China Joint Committee into a key platform in humanities exchanges between the two countries so that strengthening bilateral humanities exchanges can become one of the three pillars of efforts to advance the ROK-China strategic cooperative partnership.

3. The two sides shared the view that 2015 was a very meaningful year in solidifying the foundation for expanding and advancing bilateral humanities exchanges and setting the way forward for the Joint Committee, as all of the 50 humanities exchange projects were smoothly conducted this year, and the Foreign Ministries of the two countries adopted the future plans for the ROK-China Joint Committee during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to the ROK in October.

4. In addition, the two sides tentatively adopted about 60 humanities exchange projects for 2016, including a Korean and Chinese young leaders’ forum, joint research on pandas and a naming contest, the Visit Korea Year, and a project on thematic cities for humanities exchanges.

o The two sides also chose Chungcheongnam-do and China’s Guizhou as thematic cities for humanities exchanges for 2016, and Incheon and China’s Tianjin as thematic cities for humanities exchanges for 2017.

5. Amid the increasing humanities exchanges between the ROK and China, the two sides agreed to continue to work together to pursue bilateral humanities exchanges in a systematic and effective manner by operating the Joint Committee systematically, engaging in comprehensive promotional activities targeting the public, and expanding participation by the private sector.

o Regarding this, the ROK side said that the two sides need to strengthen the Joint Committee’s planning and overall management functions, and increase activities to publicize humanities exchanges through new media, such as SNS. The Chinese side offered to continue to publish the white paper of the Joint Committee, and expand participation in the project on thematic cities for humanities exchanges.

6. As the ROK-China Joint Committee on Humanities Exchanges, launched in 2013, is becoming a central institutional platform for humanities exchanges between the two countries, the latest meeting is expected to contribute to expanding the foundation for future humanities exchanges by increasing the ROK and Chinese people’s awareness of the Joint Committee through the release of the white paper of the Committee and the announcement of its logo.


*unofficial translation