Korea launches new group of overseas volunteers

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, May 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea launched a new, integrated group of overseas
volunteers Thursday as part of its plan to significantly increase its overseas
assistance and improve its image in the international community.
The group, World Friends Korea, plans to send some 3,000 volunteers overseas
every year, up from about 2,000 South Korean assistant workers going overseas
each year under various other programs.
The second-largest group of volunteers in the world, following the United States'
8,000-strong Peace Corps, was launched under a government plan to improve the
country's national image.
"With the launch of World Friends Korea, the country will work to build an image
of Korea that is a friend to all other nations in the world while expanding its
role in the international community as a responsible member," the presidential
office Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.
The new volunteer group was launched in a ceremony at Cheong Wa Dae, attended by
President Lee Myung-bak and some 300 volunteers set to be dispatched overseas in
the near future.
Under the image campaign, Seoul also plans to launch a new scholarship program
for international students coming to the country to study.
The country also plans to launch a new development assistance program, through
which it will actively share its development experience with developing nations.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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