The Ministry of the Interior invited diplomatic corps in Seoul to visit the Seoul office of the National Archives of Korea (NAK) and the Startup Campus situated in Gyeonggi Province on June 28 and check out how the two organizations use cutting-edge ICT to deliver quality public services. The Startup Campus is a one-stop shop for prospective startup founders, where useful information on financial resources, business management consulting, and office space, and many others is offered to assist entrepreneurs to put their ideas into practice and open a new business.

Following the two previous events, this third round of visits attracted diplomats from fifteen countries, including Honduras, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Ethiopia. This time, the diplomats had a chance to look around state-of-the-art records management facilities and the largest startup support center in Korea, often dubbed as Silicon Valley in Asia.

Officials at the Seoul office of NAK first delivered a presentation on high-tech archives preservation facilities such as archives management systems and equipment to preserve and restore damaged records. After the presentation, the participating diplomats visited a microfilm preservation room, restoration room, and a library.

At the Startup Campus, the participants toured the exhibition hall that showcases innovative products as well as the Creative Economy Innovation Center located at the Campus. The Startup Campus boasts a variety of facilities that combine cutting-edge ICT such as Internet of Things, Cloud computing, Big Data, and mobile technology, helping future entrepreneurs to create and grow a startup and make inroads into the global market. They also met with startup founders whose office is located in the Startup Campus, hearing directly from them about the Korean government’s support for startups and their success stories in the global market.

What drew much interest of the participants at NAK, in particular, was the electronic records management system that integrated the records production and management systems through the world’s best information and communication technology. The advanced archives management system of NAK will bask in the limelight when the International Council on Archives Quadriennial Congress is held in Seoul this September.

It is expected that this round of visits to NAK and the Startup Campus would help businesses with advanced records management techniques make their way into the global market and also help startups attract top talents from abroad and develop their businesses together.

As more and more diplomats are paying interest in the programme, another series of visits will continue in the second half of the year to enhance cooperation and share each other’s experiences and best practices.

Director General In-gyun Chung for International Administrative Cooperation of the Ministry of the Interior commented, “This programme will help diplomats in Seoul to better understand the public service system in Korea, and I hope this event would serve as an opportunity for Korea and countries around the world to share their experiences and knowhow and strengthen their cooperation.”