Public Diplomacy Goes Regional: Foreign Ministry Asks, Students Answer

# Public Diplomacy Goes Regional: Foreign Ministry Asks, Students Answer

• Public Diplomacy Ambassador Lim Sang-woo visits Chonnam National University for YouthFULL Tomorrow outreach
• Related national policy task: 120. Build a G7+ diplomatic power through contribution to and participation in the international community

On Thursday, July 9, Public Diplomacy Ambassador Lim Sang-woo of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited Gwangju in South Jeolla Province. He met middle and high school students from the region and international students at Chonnam National University as part of outreach for the 2026 digital global campaign YouthFULL Tomorrow.

※ YouthFULL Tomorrow combines Youth and Full and refers to the future, or Tomorrow, created by young people.

Since launching the YouthFULL Tomorrow campaign in April, the Foreign Ministry has continued youth-focused public diplomacy at universities in Seoul, including a promotional booth at Korea University's festival on May 21 and collaboration with Chung-Ang University's Department of Advertising and Public Relations on March 25 and June 22. This time, a senior ministry official visited a regional university to hear students' voices directly.

Ambassador Lim first met 24 student diplomats from the Jeonnam Student Public Diplomacy School and spoke with them under the theme “The Power Connecting Korea and the World.” The middle and high school students from South Jeolla presented ideas on topics including “If I Were a Public Diplomacy Ambassador,” “Opening Public Diplomacy Through AI” and “The Next K-Content the World Will Love,” sharing their dreams and aspirations as future civilian diplomats. Lim encouraged the students, whom he described as future leaders of public diplomacy, and asked them to pursue new and creative activities.

- The youth-participation public diplomacy model is run by the Jeonnam Dream Realization Foundation. In 2026, its 3rd cohort was launched with 24 students from the 3rd year of middle school through the 2nd year of high school.

Lim also met degree-seeking international students, including Global Korea Scholarship recipients, and listened to why they chose to study in Korea, what they hoped to undertake in the country and what role they wanted to play in relations between Korea and their home countries. He asked them to use their study experience to improve understanding of Korean foreign policy and culture at home and to serve as bridges between Korea and their countries.

The ambassador also took on the role of a Korean-language teacher and taught international students directly. Students in the Korean-language course at Chonnam National University's Language Education Center used campaign-related words such as youth, future, dream and challenge to present their desired futures in Korean and reflect on the meaning of YouthFULL Tomorrow. Lim and the students also played an AR game together, explained Korean tourist attractions and traditional clothing, and took commemorative photographs.

※ The AR game was developed with a Korean company. After completing it, participants can choose backgrounds featuring Korean attractions and traditional clothing, take photographs and share them on their social media accounts.

As part of YouthFULL Tomorrow, the Foreign Ministry is also running a content contest offering the Foreign Minister's Award and a range of social media challenges. Through these digital participatory activities, the ministry plans to sustain youth involvement in the 2026 campaign and implement the national policy task of “diplomacy together with the people.”

Attachment 1. Overview of the 2026 Digital Global Campaign

1. Event photographs
2. 2 campaign contest and challenge posters. End.

| Attachment | | Overview of the 2026 Digital Global Campaign | | --- | --- | --- |

Program overview

 Since 2020, the Foreign Ministry has conducted various participatory and two-way digital global campaigns each year together with Korean diplomatic missions abroad.

2026 campaign theme: YouthFULL Tomorrow, the future created by young people

 Global attention to the importance of young people's role continues. In 2018, the United Nations announced Youth2030, the UN Youth Strategy, presenting and implementing a roadmap to improve young people's lives and protect their rights.

※ Since 2025, phase 2 of the Youth Strategy for 2025-2030 has been under way, focusing on reducing substantive gaps by strengthening youth capabilities and expanding opportunities for participation.

 The Foreign Ministry selected YouthFULL Tomorrow as the theme of its 2026 digital global campaign to spread the message “the future created by young people” internationally and create a forum for discussion and participation with young people across borders.

1. Activities related to the 2026 Digital Global Campaign

 Offline outreach: activities at universities with large international student populations, including a promotional booth at Korea University's festival on May 21, collaboration with Chung-Ang University's Department of Advertising and Public Relations on June 22, the public diplomacy ambassador's visit to Chonnam National University on July 9, and a coffee-truck event

 Content contest: launched in 2025 and now in its 2nd edition, the global contest is accepting AI-assisted content under the theme “10 Years From Now as Imagined by Young People, 10 Years Changed by Young People.”

 Social media challenges: an Instagram Stories challenge from April to November, and Facebook, YouTube and X challenges from May to October, with details announced by period through KOREAZ channels

 AR game challenge: participants collect falling letters in order to complete a displayed sentence. After finishing the augmented-reality game, they choose Korean attraction frames and decorations, take photographs and share them. The challenge runs from May to November. End.