Korea Heritage Service Administrator Huh Min, right, and Just Peace Foundation CEO Oh Hee-young hold up a partnership agreement at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Korea Heritage Service
Korea’s cultural authorities are turning to the philanthropic arm of the country’s pop-music machine to bolster its diplomatic standing, enlisting a foundation backed by K-pop star G-Dragon to help navigate a high-stakes gathering of world heritage leaders.
The Korea Heritage Service said Monday that it had entered into a formal partnership with the Just Peace Foundation, an organization established last year with the support of the musician, whose legal name is Kwon Ji-yong. The memorandum of understanding, signed Thursday at the National Palace Museum of Korea, aims to coordinate the hosting of the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
The partnership represents a calculated attempt by Seoul to bridge the gap between its traditional statecraft and its modern soft power exports. Under the agreement, the foundation and its affiliates will participate in the summit and spearhead public-awareness campaigns for the UNESCO World Heritage Fund, an international purse used to protect and restore sites of "outstanding universal value."
"As the world faces crises such as war and climate change, we hope this committee will serve as an opportunity to highlight the importance of international solidarity," said Just Peace Foundation CEO Oh Hee-young.
The timing of the collaboration is significant. Korea is preparing to take a leading role in the UNESCO session, an event that serves as the ultimate arbiter of which global landmarks receive international protection. By bringing in a partner with deep ties to the entertainment industry, the state agency is seeking to move beyond the dry bureaucracy of heritage management and engage a younger, more globalized audience.
A spokesperson for the Korea Heritage Service said the committee should serve as a platform to demonstrate "leadership in global heritage values," rather than remaining a one-time event. Whether the star power of a K-pop icon can translate into sustainable support for aging monuments remains to be seen, but for Seoul, the fusion of pop culture and public diplomacy appears to be the new baseline for its international outreach.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
Source: Korea Times News
