Incheon and Overseas Koreans Agency sign MOU for education and culture center in Songdo
In short
Incheon City said on 22 October it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Overseas Koreans Agency to turn the Incheon City History Museum in Songdo into an Overseas Koreans Education and Culture Center. Remodeling is to start next year. The city will provide administrative support, and the agency will secure national funds and run the center once it is finished.
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Incheon City said on 22 October that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Overseas Koreans Agency to create an Overseas Koreans Education and Culture Center. The center is to be created from the Incheon City History Museum in Songdo International City, as a base for education, culture and exchange shared by overseas Koreans and Incheon residents. Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that the agreement was signed at the museum in Songdo, in Yeonsu District. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
According to the reports, the center will have an exhibition space for relics of overseas migration history and a reference room. Korean-language and history-culture education programs for next-generation compatriots are planned. Kyunghyang Shinmun added that history materials will be collected and exhibited, a digital archive built, and seminars, workshops and cultural exchange events opened to citizens. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The parties also plan to support the setting up of related bodies: secretariats for the World Korean Community Leaders Conference (세계한인회장대회), the World Korean Business Convention (세계한상대회) and the Global Korean Dream Foundation (글로벌한인드림재단). [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Remodeling of the museum is planned to begin next year. The city will provide administrative support. The agency will secure national funds and, after completion, manage and operate the center. Kyunghyang Shinmun said the agency will also oversee the construction and the city will support administrative procedures under the relevant laws. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae was quoted by Kyunghyang Shinmun as saying Incheon has had deep ties with overseas Koreans for more than 120 years, and that the center would be a place where next-generation compatriots confirm their roots and build their identity. Agency head Kim Kyung-hyup said the center had long been wished for by the 7 million overseas Koreans, and that the agency would push the project through close cooperation with the city. [ 2 ]
Yonhap and Asia Economy noted that the agency, which belongs to the Foreign Ministry and opened in Songdo in June 2023, was recently included in the government's list of public institutions to move to Sejong. They reported spreading opposition in the Incheon community, led by civic groups and politicians of both the ruling and opposition parties. They said Park drew controversy by saying right after the relocation plan was announced that Incheon would suffer no disadvantage. The Incheon Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (인천경제정의실천시민연합) said Park should lead a citywide campaign to defend public institutions in Incheon, and urged the government to withdraw the plan. [ 1 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The agreement comes as the agency, which opened in Songdo in June 2023, has been named among public bodies to move to Sejong, drawing opposition in Incheon. The documents do not say whether the center changes the relocation plan.
Key facts
- Incheon City and the Overseas Koreans Agency signed an MOU on 22 October to create an Overseas Koreans Education and Culture Center. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The center is to be created from the Incheon City History Museum in Songdo International City. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- It is to include an exhibition space for overseas migration history relics, a reference room, and Korean-language and history-culture programs for next-generation compatriots. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Remodeling of the museum is planned to begin next year. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The city will provide administrative support; the agency will secure national funds and manage and operate the center after completion. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The parties plan to support the setting up of secretariats for the World Korean Community Leaders Conference, the World Korean Business Convention and the Global Korean Dream Foundation. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Incheon City said it signed the MOU with the Overseas Koreans Agency on 22 October. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Remodeling of the Incheon City History Museum into the center is to start next year. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Incheon City handles administrative support, while the agency secures national funds and operates the center after completion. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The agency opened in Songdo in June 2023 and was recently included in the government's list of public institutions to move to Sejong, and opposition has spread in the Incheon community. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the center is a response to the agency's planned move to Sejong. Only Kyunghyang Shinmun links the two, saying the city decided on the center as the Sejong move is being pursued; the other documents report the MOU and the opposition separately.
- The cost of the center and the amount of national funds to be secured. No document gives a figure or a completion date.
- Whether the relocation plan will change. The documents report calls from the Incheon Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice to withdraw the plan but give no government response.