The 17th Inaugural Session of the Russian and Central Asian Chapters was held from August 22-27 in Vladivostok and Moscow in Russia and in Almaty, Kazakhstan

The session, attended by NUAC members of the chapters and representatives of the local Korean communities, was held to announce the 17th Inaugural Session to local Korean communities and to build a consensus on the unification of Korea among them.

The session, which started at 5:00pm on August 22 at the Hyundai Hotel Vladivostok, comprised a variety of programs including cultural events under the theme of unification and a meeting on the unification of Korea.

Korean-Russians and Koreans living in Russia showed particular interest in the live traditional Korean performances given by a performing arts troupe invited from Korea. The performances included Gyobang Imchun (a solo traditional Korean dance), a fan dance, 'San Taryeong' and 'Arirang'.

The performance program was followed by a lecture by Secretary General Park Chan-bong, in which he stressed the importance of the Russian Far East, saying, "Primorsky Krai is the place was where our patriotic martyrs began their Korean independence movement. Today, it's the region closest to North Korea. Therefore, it will play a hugely important role as a bridge to the center of the continent after the unification of Korea. I am sure that today's South Korea is what our patriotic martyrs dreamed of when they were fighting for the independence of Korea. For this reason, the unification of Korea must be realized based on a democratic system.

We have seen great changes take place in both Russia and China over the past decade. Even Cuba is opening up through a profound process of transformation. Now it's North Korea's turn. We need to take an active part in changing North Korea while taking a firm stance against their provocations, and should take the initiative in bringing about the unification of Korea.

No country will be threated or placed in a disadvantageous position by a unified Korea. The peace and prosperity of a unified Korea will spread to the Eurasian continent, which will be tantamount to hitting the jackpot for Russians and particularly Korean-Russians. We should be able to tell North Korea that it's time to change." He went on to ask the council members in Primorsky Krai and Russian Far East to play their part, eliciting a fervent response from them.

The session was attended by 25 council members from Irkutsk, Khabarovsk and Magadan including Chairperson Lee Gyeong-jong, as well as more than 120 Korean-Russians and representatives of the Korean communities in Vladivostok.

Lee Seok-bae, Consul General to Vladivostok, delivered a congratulatory speech and attended a meeting to exhange opinions on Korean investments in Russia and the current status of Korean companies in the country. In his speech, he said, "The unification of Korea can only bring hope to the Russian Far East, but the South Korean system must be the model for unification."

On August 24, a special meeting took place between 15 council members and 15 representatives of the Korean communities of Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Belarus.

During the meeting Secretary General Park Chan-bong gave a lecture in which he emphasized that "We will need to make great efforts to ensure that common people in North Korea are able to choose the democratic system upon realizing the unification of Korea. To achieve this goal, we need the cooperation of both Koreans living abroad and Korean-Russians."

Kim Heung-su, Consul General at the Korean Embassy in Russia, also gave a congratulatory speech and called for the active participation of Korean-Russians in the democratic unification of Korea.

Park Hyeong-taek, chief of the Russian Chapter, declared that they would develop various types of activities, such as a unification forum, in consideration of the local characteristics and sentiment, so as not to offend Russian people.

The chapters held another meeting on August 23 prior to the inaugural session, during which South Korean Ambassador to Moscow Park Ro-byug introduced the Eastern Economic Form to be held in Vladivostok in September of this year, and took the time to share opinions on cooperation between South Korea and Russia.

The Ambassador stressed the importance of promoting communication with younger generations who will live to see the unification of Korea, and of developing student exchange programs. He also proposed that they should come up with a sustainable program to work with the younger generation of Korean- Russians, since there are many globally-minded young Korean-Russians who are fluent in Korean.

On August 24, Secretary General Park Chan-bong attended an afternoon meeting with Vasilii Cho, Chairman of the Federation of Korean Russians, on the participation of Korean-Russians in the democratic unification of Korea and a possible direction for their activities.

The 17th Inaugural Session of Central Asian Chapter was held in the last part of the schedule on August 27.

The Korean Theater in Almaty, Kazakhstan embodies the history of Korean settlers in Almaty, as it has seen many Koreans come and settle in the area over the decades, and served as the venue for the inaugural session in which 42 council members and more than 30 representatives of the Korean communities in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz, Tajikistan and Mongolia participated.

During the first part of the session, a congratulatory speech was delivered, and letters of appointment and certificates of merit were presented to the attendees and senior council members, while the second part included a lecture by Secretary German Kim (Professor at the Kazakh National University) and a performance by the performing art troupe of the Korean Theater.

In his opening speech, Chairperson Lee Jae-wan said, "South and North Korea were able to reach an agreement after talks following the recent landmine attack by North Korea, because of the voice of the Korean people living in the homeland and abroad." He assured them that the council members will make good headway in such matters by working together.

Korean Ambassador to Kazakhstan Cho Yong-cheon gave a congratulatory speech and said, "The members of the 17th NUAC were appointed at a very crucial moment for the unification of Korea, so they should contribute to its realization by carrying out meaningful activities."

Shin Eun-suk, Director of the Council Member Activities Bureau, said, "One of the characteristics of Central Asia is the diversity of its Korean-Russian community, which has a history of 120 years, and Koreans living in Russia. This diversity will be of great help to achieving the unification of Korea. I hope that the council members will strengthen their abilities and carry out activities aimed at contributing to the unification of Korea. The Korean government respects and thanks Korean-Russians for their achievements. I hope they will participate vigorously in the activities aimed at the unification of Korea by communicating with the Korean communities in their respective areas."

Cho Seong-gwan, President of the Korean Community, also gave a congratulatory speech in which he said that they will make efforts to communicate better with and understand the Korean-Russians living in Kazakhstan, while taking an active part in activities aimed at achieving the peaceful unification of Korea.

German Kim, Secretary of the Central Asian Chapter and Professor at the Kazakh National University, gave a lecture on "The unification of Korea and the role of CIS Korean-Russians as a mediating influence." Professor Kim asserted that "It would be very effective if Koreans living abroad were to play the role of a mediator, since they form the third party in the relationship between South and North Korea. Likewise, based on their history, it would be very effective for Korean-Russians to assume this role as well, as they have remained neutral in this matter. To that end, we will develop education programs for Korean-Russians to learn about not only South Korea but North Korea too."

Victor Moon, a painter renowned in South Korea and Kazakhstan, also attended the meeting to donate in person his work titled 'Peace' along with his wishes for the peaceful unification of Korea.

The meeting ended with a chorus of 'Our Wish' sang by all the attendees and performers at the Korean Theater.

With the closure of the 17th Inaugural Session of the Middle Asian Chapter, each of the overseas chapters is now ready to carry out its activities.