This year, Koreans can get a taste of Britain thanks to the series of cultural events organized for “2017-18 Creative Futures,” which was designated between Korea and the U.K. last year to engage in a more active cultural exchange by the two countries. [...] There’s been a number of collaboration projects and cultural activities between Korea and the U.K., but according to the British Council, “this will be the first official event to more professionally support the exchanges.”

Marking the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation, there will be a series of cultural and educational events in Korea this year, according to the Canadian Embassy in Seoul. The Canadian Confederation refers to the process by which the former British colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were united into one Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867.

The United States and its ally The Republic of Korea, established a reciprocal exchange program in 2008. Through Korea WEST (Work, English, Study and Travel) academically gifted students are recruited and selected to participate in the language and professional internships through visa sponsors like AAG. In return, American students are given the reciprocal opportunity to intern in Korea.

Kimchi in space. The Kimchi Bus. Government-sponsored chefs and restaurants spreading the word of Kimchi around the globe. South Korea is one of the nations most involved in branding itself through its food, using food as a part of it’s “soft power.” It’s called “Gastrodiplomacy” — the use of food as a diplomatic tool to help resolve conflicts and foster connections between nations.

What happened to me in the first two weeks of 2017? I became a novice K-pop fan. But seriously, what’s so unusual about that? Are there not millions of K-pop fans too? Yes, that would be true, until I tell you my age. K-pop bands target teenagers, not grown-ups and certainly not people who are almost senior citizens like me. But wait, I also became a novice fan of Korean drama shows. 

This week in Gwangju, we also see cultural diplomacy in action. "With support from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, some 100 participants and their families and communities have come together with a team of dancers from Battery Dance, a New York-based contemporary dance company, to help build understanding and bridge divides." 

How should the Trump administration approach Pyongyang diplomatically? Given a widespread, rigid view among U.S. policymakers that the Kim regime is nothing more than an “evil deceiver” and the tendency of those policymakers to automatically equate talking to North Korea with a reward, setting up a low-profile back channel with North Korean negotiators should be prioritized first. 

A Japanese documentary released Saturday depicts the life of a Korean student who sacrificed himself to rescue a Japanese man in a subway station in Tokyo in 2001. [...] The film comes out at a tense time in Korean-Japanese relations after official protests from Tokyo over statues set up in Korea to honor the victims of the Japanese Imperial Army's drafting of Asian sex slaves in World War II.