Cultural Cooperation Workshop with FNF Alumni at Haeinsa

Cultural cooperation between Germany and Korea was the title of a weekend workshop attended by alumni and staff of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF), which took place in early September in South Gyeongsang Province. A broad range of topics awaited the participants at Gobulam, a newly built complex near the ancient Haeinsa temple.

FNF resident representative Dr. Lars-André Richter analyzed the current situation on the Korean peninsula, and Yeun Kee Young, Professor of Law at Dongguk University, illustrated the influence of the German legal system on the Korean one in the past and at present. After that, Dr. Kim Jung Goo, an expert on risk management who works with UNITAS, offered a philosophical view on the advance health care directive in Korea. Finally, Korean literature Professor Koo Myong Sook of Sookmyung Women’s University read several poems from her books of verse.

The following day, the participants took the opportunity to see the historical temple arrangements, in which the Tripitaka Koreana is stored, more than 80,000 wooden printing blocks that date back to the 13th century. Several monks offered a deeper insight into the impact of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, into the lifes of some grand zen masters who taught there, and into present day exchanges with Christian monks from Europe. Thereby, the particpants gained a better grasp of the cultural wealth of Korean Buddhism, which left a deep impression on everyone.