On July 8, the Choson Exchange team met with Mayor Park Won-soon from the Seoul Metropolitan Government at the request of the Seoul Metropolitan Government and through the helpful connection of the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network. He was in Singapore to receive the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize.
The team had a lively discussion with the mayor, who graciously led the talks in English and asked about Choson Exchange’s work over the last decade. He also sought our opinion on how best to facilitate inter-Korea relations in the startup sector.
The Choson Exchange team shows Mayor Park some photos of our volunteer-led workshops in North Korea
Mayor Park was greatly supportive throughout the meeting and urged us to continue with our efforts. He signed two photos of our workshops in Singapore and Pyongyang, with words of encouragement to us and our Korean partners.
Mayor Park sends his well wishes to our programs and volunteers
In a post-meeting interview with the press, Mayor Park said: “For North Korea to successfully change and for their efforts to open up succeed, there needs to be such exchanges, learning, and training amongst youths.”
We thank Mayor Park and the Seoul Metropolitan government for meeting with us and look forward to keeping in touch as we continue with our efforts to build a modern entrepreneurship ecosystem in North Korea.
Some related media from the meeting:
Mayor Park Won Soon thanks Geoffrey See and his team for their hard work
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