| Kim Won-soo, the chair of the international advisory board of the Future Consensus Institute, or Yeosijae Foundation, talks during the Korea CQ Forum at the Liszt Institute in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Corea Image Communication Institute |
By Dong Sun-hwa
"Going back to the basics" is the only way to cope with the current political and social problems in Korea, according to Kim Won-soo, the chair of the international advisory board of the Future Consensus Institute, or Yeosijae Foundation.
"At the moment, Korea is in a perfect storm and the only thing the country can do is to get back to the basics," the former under-secretary-general of the United Nations said during his lecture at the Liszt Institute, a Hungarian cultural center in Seoul, Tuesday. His talk was part of the Corea Image Communication Institution's (CICI) Korea CQ Forum that aims to bring together opinion leaders worldwide.
"From the ongoing U.S.-China rivalry to gender division, Korea is facing a range of political and social problems, but there is no silver bullet to solve all of them at once. Whatever choice we make will have downsides and costs. For instance, if we choose to strengthen our alliance with the U.S., how will China react? We also have to remember that this will come with the obligation to help our allies when they need us."
Kim moved on to explain what he meant by the basics.
"Korea has to aim for the best, but prepare for the worst through scenario-based contingency plans," he stressed. "We have to think of all possible scenarios from best to worst, and get prepared to minimize the possible costs."
In addition, the former diplomat underscored the significance of setting priorities, saying, "We should also decide on our priorities ― which countries should we coordinate with first? We also need to seek more partners that share similar interests with us and try to go more global."
The Korea CQ Forum was joined by Hungarian Ambassador to Korea Mozes Csoma and the Liszt Institute Director Istvan Medvigy, who gave a lecture on Hungarian wines during the event, among others.
| From left in the back row are Istvan Medvigy, director of Hungarian Cultural Center; Park Youn- jung, CEO of Mint Tour; Andras Szuts, deputy director of the Hungarian Culture Institute; and Richard Choi, CEO of Spoqa. From left in the front row are Ryu Kwon-ha, honorary consul of Hungary; Sanjay Kumar, Korea Herald Journalist; Kim Won-Soo, chair of the International Advisory Board of the Future Consensus Institute; Choi Jung-wha, president of CICI; Mozes Csoma, Hungarian ambassador; Nam Sun-mi, spouse of Hungarian ambassador; Na Eun-gyung, president of NAS Communication; Didier Beltoise, president of Cs; Crystal Park, professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, interpreter; and Dong Sun-hwa, The Korea Times Journalist. Courtesy of Corea Image Communication Institute |