The East Asia Institute (EAI) and Korea Foundation (KF) launched an educational program for international students known as the “KF-EAI Korea Friendship”.

The fifth lecture of the Korea Friendship Academicus program, consisting of an eight-part lecture series exploring the various aspects of the Korean society, was held on July 2, 2013. Professor Byung-Kook Kim of Korea University gave a lecture on “Modernization and Democratization in South Korea”, explaining existing theories about the correlation between political democratization and economic modernization and applied those theories to South Korea. Professor Kim further suggested “ceasing ideological competition,” “bridging ideological gaps,” and “procedural consensus” as the three main tasks for the Korean society after democratization.

The subsequent Q&A session allowed Korea Friendship students to freely ask questions about a comparative analysis between China and Kenya along with the future of South Korea’s welfare system.