On Sept. 20, 2014, ten Chinese power bloggers and 14 journalists from Huanqiu Wang, China's representative news portal, invited by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Korean Embassy in China, visited Konkuk University (KU) Main Campus in Seoul. The guests attended a session which introduced Konkuk's programs customized for Chinese students studying at Konkuk. There was also a discussion on Korean university students' internet use, a conversation with Chinese students studying in Korea, and a tour of Konkuk's Main Campus.
Among the invited power bloggers were Su Qin, bestselling author with more than 49 million followers on the major Chinese social-networking service (SNS) Weibo, and other influential bloggers whose occupations included lawyer, professor, PD, and entrepreneur.
Photo: Website of Weibo, China's major SNS
This visit was arranged by the KU Graduate School of Mass Communication & Public Relations (Dean: Prof. Dong Gyu Kim) and KU Center for International Faculty and Student Services (Director: Mr. Woonsek Yoo), and was attended by KU University Professor Sang-Ki Chung, former Ambassador for Northeast Asia Regional Cooperation of the Korean Foreign Ministry, journalist Jinsoon Choi of The Korea Economic Daily who is also Adjunct Professor of KU Graduate School of Mass Communication & Public Relations and a power blogger, Dr. Wi-Geun Kim of the Korea Press Foundation, and other guests, to discuss cooperative measures between China and Korea.
In addition to KU, the Chinese delegation visited the site of the Incheon Asian Games, the new building of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Sejong Special Autonomous City, among other places during their 8-day stay in Korea.
Prof. Dong Gyu Kim, Dean of KU Graduate School of Mass Communication & Public Relations, commented, "The influence of power bloggers in China, who lead China's public opinion, is extremely strong. By introducing Korea and Korean universities through the power bloggers' blogs and Weibo will have a positive effect on strengthening the friendly sentiment between the peoples of Korea and China by SNS; further, it will be conducive to the development of Korea and China's cooperative relations."
Posted by Eun Jin Cho