The VANK was founded in the beginning of 1999.
It seemed to be a tiny action started as we look it back today.

At that time as I wished to learn English through the pen-pal with foreign friends and improve my international senses, I started to send my personal profile to the bulletin board of the Asian related department of many universities in the USA and Europe as well, with no definite object.

It was said, "We are the youth of Korea where the World cup soccer is holding.
We want to make our friendship with the youth in the world, who are interested to Korea and Asia.
If you are interested, please let us know via mail." We were amazed the responds which were over several tens per a day, beyond our expectation.

They seemed to be interested to Korea and the Korean itself as a fresh mystery, in contrary of their preconception about the Asia represented by China and Japan. Besides, it seemed to be attractive to them that we'd be the cyber tourist guides.

From this progress, we finally have established the home-page subjected on 'E-mail pen-pal with foreign students.' It was an unexpected happening that this home-page that was established for personal records was to become the center of the interest of the netizen, especially primary and middle school students.

It looked like that the students found their attraction to make foreign friends without any overseas trip nor overseas language training.

Although individual communication was fun and excited as itself as I started to communicate with foreign students via e-mail, the longer and more I have been communicating with them, the more I have begun to have new concerns. That is the concern not on me but on Korea where I live.

As many as I communicated direct with foreign friends, I found them having wrong idea on Korea.
I found that a korea which they knew was quite different from Korea where we live.

I let all members of my home-page know of it, and, since that time, my home-page switched its roll to the national public relation-cyber diplomat from the foreign pen-pal-cyber tourist guide.

And that's the back ground how the VANK was born.

The VANK is the organization reinstating the 'EAST SEA' which had been erased on the global map, as known to many. Many were wonder how we could do such a thing that even the Korea government had been failing for several tens of years.

The VANK always replys that the secret is the "mustard seed."
There is a "parable of the mustard seed".

The mustard seed, the smallest seed among the trees, grows to a plant, then a tree,
and then provides the rest area to the birds.

Activities of the VANK are same. Our foreign friends of the other side of the world, who've never been to Korea, were eager to know about Korea, a small country on the map, and that friend who've never known of Kimchi before bought a Korean dictionary to learn the Korean language.

And he wrote me that he's preparing for an examination for diplomatic officer because he wants to come as a diplomatic officer to Korea which in the country of his friend.

He's sending a letter to the publishing company and asking to instate 'East Sea" not "Sea of Japan" whenever he found any foreign textbook describing as Sea of Japan"

The Korean friends come to be the important friends and the central figure to the worldwide foreign friends, and to be recognized as global leaders to lead the entire world as a key nation of Asia.

It would be a small fact to have a foreign friend. But that foreign friend whom we have friendship changes the image of Korea from their heart, that change could be spread and extended wider and deeper. As a small bit of yeast in a large amount of flour can raise it as time past.

The Bible says that, if we have even a small faith as a mustard seed, it'll be done so, as you commend this mountain to move there from here; and there shall be nothing we can't do.

That's true! Before we give up with a thought that what I possibly can do any by myself to affects this world, let's have the faith of the mustard seed, which even a small seed can grow to a big tree, and practise it. Don't you agree it's not impossible to do if there were many people thinking in this manner and trying to do? Can't we expect to see numerous mustard seed like miracles happening throughout the nation?

The VANK hopes to assist the entire nation to have the faith of the mustard seed as their sense of value and to testify the fact that the miracle of the mustard seed is the generating power to change Korea.