ISDP-KF Nordic Journalist Fellowship Program: Trip to Seoul

Last week, the ISDP Stockholm Korea Center co-organized a trip to Seoul with the Korea Foundation for the participants of the ISDP-KF Nordic Journalist Fellowship Program. Through a series of meetings and visits at various institutions, the participating journalists received in-depth knowledge and first-hand experiences of multiple aspects of contemporary Korean society. 

To promote greater awareness and a more balanced knowledge of South Korea, the Korea Foundation and the ISDP Stockholm Korea Center launched the Nordic Journalist Fellowship Program. The first training session took place in Stockholm and invited six journalists from the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, and Finland) to travel to Stockholm to attend lectures and gain insights about South Korea’s history, culture, and political situation. This was followed by a trip to Seoul last week, which included four days of meetings, visits and tours to relevant sites, as well as time for the journalists to conduct independent interviews and meetings.

The six fellows who participate in the program are Amanda Alvarsson (News Reporter), Jakob Åsell (Film Journalist & Editor), Siri Franceschi (Freelancer & Journalist), Anders Frick (Business Journalist), Mikko Marttinen (Feature Writer) and Lene Winther (Asia Correspondent).

The trip included visiting academic, political and media institutions where the participants met experts, diplomats and fellow journalists, but also visits to historical and private sector organizations to provide a holistic perspective and a nuanced understanding of contemporary Korea. The next training session will be held in Stockholm in September, offering more in-depth lectures on the Korean Peninsula.

Through the program, the participants visited, among other places, the following institutions: