Story of the VANK

How are you? It's our pleasure to meet you.
If it is your first time to meet the VANK, please allow us to tell you about the VANK , how to start, how to grow and what to dream as well. You may be able to see with feelings how a dream of one individual grew to a dream of the organization, and that dream of the organization grew to a dream of one nation.

The reason we're telling is because we like you to know that your dream also can be grown to a dream of the nation as well as the entire world, when you work with the VANK.

Growth of the VANK can easily be explained by the parable of the mustard seed in the Bible, saying that a mustard seed grew and became a tree larger than any plant, and the birds of the air perched in its branches. We can summarize it as following; seed - sprout - leafy branch - thickly leaves - birds perching in it. Do you wonder how a small seed, the VANK, could grow to a big tree?
Let's examine the 6 steps of the growth of the VANK.

Seed

It began with a latter of one young man sending to his foreign friend. He was amazed for the response form his foreign friend when he introduce of Korea. That foreign friend told him that he'd like to know the right information of Korea because he had wrong idea of Korea for a long time, and to visit Korea. The young man who was encouraged by this response from his foreign friend began to act as the Korea tourist guide and Korea public relation agent for the foreigners with no authority but through the internet. And more on that, he checked well-known foreign institutes and sent the requests to correct the errors on the Korean matters as many as he found.

And in 1999, it's been registered with the official name of "the VANK" stands for ' "VOLUNTARY AGENCY NETWORK OF KOREA" as a private organization.

"A mustard seed is smaller than any, but it grows to a big tree which provides the place for rest to the birds in the air."

Taking Root

The VANK began to take its root and dream the vision.
Hub of the Asia! Gate of the northeastern Asia! The KOREA that shares dreams and friendships with the entire world!  

The VANK hopes that Korea grows to the pivot of the Asia and the gate of the northeastern Asia, becomes the affluent nation economically, and grants the entire world its love with its economic prosperity. And we hope that the Koreans become the friendly people sharing dreams and friendships with the entire world so that they might be rich in spirit because of the returning love of the people in this whole world.

The VANK marches on today, too, with sense of mission and devotion to achieve these visions.

The first point of the mission of the VANK is to correct 800 millions of the global netizen about their concept of Korea;

the second is to unify scattered 6.5millions of our countrymen as one;

and the last is to encourage the dreams of 70millions of the Koreans and stays with them.

Pray for the mission and vision of the VANK, which are the roof of the VANK....

Sprout

Producing the VANK cyber diplomatics which must be the sprout from the root is the core activity of the VANK. We've been producing many cyber diplomats, and their scope of activities have been being expanded in great degree. It is a fundamental essence of the VANK to ask any candidate for cyber diplomatic to cumulate friendship in honest communication and sharing dreams prior to have public relation of Korea. Trust and solid friendship can help your country and hometown approaching closer to your foreign friend in precious and special manner. This cumulating trust and friendship generated a lot of changes.

A friend who didn't have any idea what Kimchi is anxious to know about Korea and using his Korean dictionary to learn Korean language. And some friend is preparing for the national examination for the diplomatic officers, because he wants to come Korea as a diplomats representing his country. They're sending their letters to the foreign publishing company and asking them to correct the error of Japanese sea in the foreign textbooks to 'Dong-hae.'

All of these are possible to happen because of their concern on their friend's country. The VANK believes that the true life of individual Korean not hypocritical outlooks is demanded and can be effective to introduce Korea. Korea, my friend's country!

The VANK knows that it takes a lot of trouble and time to introduce Korea from one foreign friend. But we believe that constant love, endurance, joy of unity, kindness, goodness and faithfulness depositing in that time is the proper pathway to attach Korea in the world as 'Korea, my friend's country.' Anyone with no matter of the nationality, age, sex, and foreign language capability, who wants to march this road with us, can be the VANK cyber diplomat VANKee through the '14 steps of training course to be cyber diplomatics.'

14 steps Training course to be cyber diplomat

Collect the resources for public relation of Korea. - Introduction of yourself and Korea in English - Public relation of Korea via e-pen pal - Public relation of Korea in the chatting room - Training to be the international specialist. - Translation of the foreign articles - Discovering the error about Korea - Sending letter to the foreign textbook publishing company
- Sending letter for cooperation to the foreign organization - Sending letter for exchange to the foreign schools - Handing a protest note - Unifying the Koreans abroad - Achieving our dream - Achieving the dream of Korea.

Leafing Branch

Activities of the VANKee, cyber diplomats, become generative power to produce the leafing branch which is diversified activities of the VANK. We have the VANKees in variation of the age from the primary students to the seniors. Most of the youth are easily disclosed to the internet space with violence and obscene culture, and prisoned in the class for the entrance examination. But the VANKee activity has its significance as a living and feeling study by sharing the right public relation of Korea with foreign friend, and it is the reason why many parents respond with the VANK. Especially, in concern with the distortion of the Japanese textbook, many Koreans with no difference in ages and sexes are participating in the "9 projects of Pan national movement to introduce Korea correctly."

Project to educate all Koreans as cyber diplomat
It is the project to build 10,000 clubs in the primary, middle and senior and college in the nation and produce cyber diplomats. Then dream of the VANK can be the dream of all Koreans.

Movement ot make a foreign friend via e-pen pal:
The youth who are familiar to the internet system can make the internet communication with foreign friend and cultivate the sense and view as international person as well as the English power.

Project to correct errors
Incorrect information of Korea which have been described on the textbook or any publications in the world for a long time now are spreaded rapidly through the internet system. The VANK tries to detect them as soon as possible, to stop those errors immediately and to correct them appropriately.

Project to establish the international collaboration
It is a project to seek a proper collaborating relationship with well known foreign organizations that has a great influence and establish a ordinary window to deliver the diversified and current information of Korea efficiently.

Project to exchange the cyber international schools
It provides the 'e-mail school exchange program' for the primary to senior high school in the nation to promote the on-line communication with the foreign schools, and provides the opportunity for the student who see only the entrance examination to see the world and spread their dream and friendships into the wide field of the world.

Project to make the photogenic of our hometown
We introduce Korea to the foreigners by DB composing with many photos of Korean culture and scenery.

Project to establish the detective engine for resources of publia relation of Korea
We are collecting and systemizing the Korea related home pages and resources which contains the life, history, culture of Korea, and establishing its network system for the netizen to collect or retrieve the materials and resources of Korea in easy, and introducee them correctly to the abroad.

One Korean Network
It will collect all network information of Korean students, the 2nd generation of emigrant Korean and adapted Korean, and establish the community to have them unified as one. It also work to introduce Korea correctly.

Project of PRKOREA Times in English version
It is a English version newspaper that the cyber diplomats work as reporters and publish for the foreigners who are residing in Korea now and who are planning to visit Korea as well.

Thickly Leaves

Thickly leaves are the outcomes from many activities and projects that the VANK are carrying out and the subjects to complete ceaselessly. If we escape from the attitude that questioned how a man can influence the world to be changed and gather together those who believe that a small mustard seed growing a big tree, a faith of a mustard seed, a small mustard seed no longer will remain as a small mustard seed.

The VANK will assist all Koreans to have this faith of the mustard seed as their value of life, so that we might testify those miracle of the mustard seed can be proven as the power to change Korea.

Korea is changing. - The public relation of the VANK for 600millions of the foreigners in the world generates the new image of korea and brings changes in every areas of Korea, politics, economy, society and culture as well. If we want to public relate Korea, we must know and love Korea first of all, and correct any errors and mistakes.

Children of this country is changing. - Children who are disclosed to violence and obscene culture of the internet cites are conquering the attempt form those cites by working with the VANK and extend their future by sharing their dream and friendship with foreign friends. They come to have new concept of the world, "World is one with no matter of skin color and language." Chldren of this country is changing!

Youth of this country is changing. - Youth who study aimlessly in the violence environment of the campus is participating the VANK's program through their friends. They'll learn more of Korea to tell more and correctly to their foreign friends, and learn about the other country from their foreign friends. More on that, they'll study English more to communicate fluently with them. Then they can study with their own will escaping from the passive study of memorization.

At the last. young adult of this nation is changing. - The VANK's activities now turn around the young adult's steps to leave the country for abroad. They now convince that it is right way to change this country instead to excuse themselves from the current situation of the nation for better living in other country, in order to inherit better country to our children who will live in this country.

Birds perching in

There must be lots of birds coming and perching in the tree with leafing branches and leaves.
The bigger the tree is, the more the birds are coming. The VANK shall assist, with sense of mission and devotion, you to grow as the healthy tree with leafing branches and leaves.
The VANK dreams to be the pivot of Asia and the gate of the northeastern Asia, but the true core of the VANK is to be the country sharing dreams and friendships with the entire world.

We hope to build Korea who shares its dream and cumulates friendship with others, so, is accepted as a leader smoothly and grant its leadership not of money of power for the behalf of the entire world.
As we can demonstrate this kind of leadership, we shall be the nation whom the world love.
Approaching to the world to be a friend while pregnance the country in our heart. This is the vision of the Korean that the VANK seeks to set for the global family of the 21 c, and the future of the Korean to lead the world as the light of Asia.

KOREA that can share dreams and friendship with whole world! It's exiting. It is the future that the VANK dreams and the state of tomorrow that we must achieve. As a small mustard seed grew to a big tree, and the birds came to perch in it, though it is small as, if we continue to put our steps, the dream which looks like a dim in far distance cab meet us as the fact. The VANK wants to share our dreams with those who have faith of the mustard seed.