Korean has been designated an official foreign language subject for college entrance exam in France, according to the French Embassy in Korea. An embassy official said on Sunday that France's Ministry of Education included Korean among foreign languages for the Baccalaureat ― an academic qualification test that French high school students must pass to graduate and enter university ― late last year.

As the realm of diplomacy increasingly engages the public at large, culture is being writ large in the vocabulary and method of foreign affairs experts around the globe. One of the major tasks of diplomats is mastering the art of public diplomacy, employing the allures of visual art, music, literature and performing arts, in a world increasingly interconnected culturally. 

The Korean Culinary Arts & Science High School, Seoul South Korea led by Dr. Lee, Senior Lecturer and Jhang, Ethnic Korean Cuisine Chef along with 10 students had a food and cultural exchange programme with the students and faculty of Mount Mary Higher Secondary School & College (MMHSSC), Chumukedima, Nagaland on January 13. This was stated in a press note issued by the organiser. 

South Korea is a latecomer when it comes to public diplomacy. It can learn from Taiwan's experience, especially its public diplomacy with the United States. It's a fitting proposition because there is a view that South Korea, under Park Geun-hye, displayed the appearance of "tilting" towards China at the expense of the U.S., its major ally.

Korea's food experts are sharing their experience in branding with Laotian food companies. The "Product Development Workshop for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)," organized by the ASEAN-Korea Centre and Lao PDR's Ministry of Industry and Commerce, provides an opportunity for the companies to "enhance competitiveness and develop market strategies targeting domestic and overseas markets through lectures and consultations on branding, marketing, and packaging of food products."

Technology makes government operations more transparent and delivery of services more efficient and less costly. It’s often called “e-government,” and officials beyond Estonia and South Korea are embracing it to various extents.

The Park Geun-hye administration started with an ambitious middle-power foreign policy agenda. But as President Park’s time in office seems set to come to an end, South Korea’s middle power prestige may fall victim to South Korea’s domestic politics. Park had several policies seeking to utilize South Korea’s middle power status. The "Eurasia Initiative" aimed to establish a logistics and energy network through North Korea, Russia, Central Asia and on to Europe.

China, which regards itself as one of the world’s oldest civilizations, but one that has been repressed by outsiders, has often made culture a battlefield. It has tussled with its neighbors and rewritten history textbooks. In other instances, soft power skirmishes may be seen as substitutes for hot war. So China’s recent embrace of Japanese movies may be more complicated than audiences falling for the cuteness purveyed by Japan’s cartoon factories.