The following is a contribution by Dr. Kim Seong-tae, President of the Institute of Korea Future Policy and Dean of the Graduate School of Governance of Sungkyunkwan University -- Ed.
The planning purport of the Korea Future Forum (KFF www.koreafuture.org) can be summarized as follows. The future is tomorrow's history which heads toward value. Human beings have been unfolding human history, creating the future based on practical reasons of the inside of a human being. Considering a topic of conversation, dubbed the future, future foresight holds another important historical significance at this juncture.
The future and global are an expression of survival and prosperity our nation will pursue. Our country's effort and outcome over the last 50 years toward freedom, democracy and the grounds of better life are facing many boundaries today. Without the conversion of a new paradigm on the whole across the nation and the society at large, our cool-headed reality awareness is that we have reached a fundamental limit. Since the future means a progressive time our nation pursues whereas global means spatial extension our nation will stretch out, we want to head for another future of our country centering on these two topics of conversation, i.e., the future and global.
Scientific foresight and policy establishment based on this are necessary. We have to equip ourselves with mechanisms and stable execution procedures which establish a vision about the future and set up consistent policy. Examples of many policy failures in the past are a circumstantial evidence about this. Policies which lack proper prediction and vision about the future can't persuade any constituents of a real society whose interests are entangled. Such policy causes even more social conflict alone.
Toward another future
The importance of the future convergence technology and convergence knowledge is on the rise and society's connectivity and mutual functions are becoming higher. Today's international circumstances in which a wall between countries crumbles down and their reciprocal influence are becoming bigger gradually, demands keenly special expertise about the future prediction and integration insight in establishing national strategy. Thus, national future-oriented government operation system development and allowing it to become action are above all important. However, when we look back at our country's current address, its outlook is not so bright. National policy capacity including political circles doesn't meet such requests.
Advanced countries are operating by forging expert networks and think tanks for future prediction based on the enormous amount of resources already and utilizing this aggressively on government operation. England's Strategy Unit, the U.S. National Intelligence Council, Sweden's Institute for Future Studies, and Finland's Committee for the Future are those examples. Yet in the case of our country, the preparation about the future prediction is feeble in a national dimension. It is a self-evident fact that our country is wanting in ability to tackle with such global change by means of established government operation system. Therefore, new change and preparation of national dimensions are necessary.
This Forum wants to investigate the possibility of spearheading such change first of all in our country's intellectuals. World class intellectuals who lie scattered in our country's universities, special institutions, and industrial circles will be able to display their strengths as the prime movers of such change.
New self-aware movements which include society each field's intellectual convergence and knowledge network's composition, will allow established special field's knowledge to be risen to a new dimension, based on the future prediction methodology. So established knowledge systems get new life power and will change anew into necessary knowledge in each national field.
As a consequence, this intellectual alliance will serve as a catalyst which allows policy establishment and execution to be attained based on the future vision in government operation, providing more future-oriented controversies by illuminating the problem at issue our country faces and by presenting new alternatives.
This Forum wants to start convergence's effort in a bigger dimension beyond each field's frame, based on the future prediction topic of conversation. What is necessary for us now is futureoriented thought and spirit, global talent's nurturing based on this, and creative national policy reform and establishment based on scientific future prediction. We have to go toward another future. Without a new conception's conversion across the nation at large, there is not a bright future for us. This Forum, Korea Future Forum for the purpose of global national strategy establishment, has been planned based on such pressing problem consciousness.
The purpose of the Korea Future Forum can be summarized as follows. First, this Forum carries out future prediction expert network and think tank role for the sake of future generation's creative, productive future strategy establishment and future-oriented government operation system's desirable development and allowing to come into action. Second, in establishing national strategy the Korea Future Forum carries out related projects including research to support integrated insight about future prediction, alternative presentation, and education.
Major project basic direction
In the interests of abovementioned purpose accomplishment, this Forum includes following basic direction. First, forum, seminar, and international academic conference hosting. Second, academic journal, paper journal, white paper and the others document's publication and distribution. Third, national future policy-related research separate volume and research report publication. Fourth, exchange collaboration with related academic institutes at home and abroad. Fifth, related institution's project propulsion. Sixth, home page composition and operation, and newsletter publication. Seventh, academic research service project support.
Progress report
On August 2006, the Korea Future Forum's preparation activity began. On Apr, 2007, KFF inauguration general assembly passed by its ratification process and secured experts 50 projectors. As the first chairman of KTF, current Konkuk University president Oh Myung was selected and since then, over two days on June 26th and 27th, its inauguration preparation seminar and workshop were held. In this process, Dr. Kim Seong-tae, Dean, Graduate School of Governance, SKKU was appointed as president, Institute of Korea Future Policy KFF. For the sake of forging KFF international partnership, there have been following efforts.
First, KFF agreed with Professor Ian Miles, Manchester University regarding mutual exchange for possibility research of government management application of the future prediction field. Second, KFF exchanged opinion with Minister Mr. Stephen Alderidge, England Strategy Unit, about national future strategy and propulsion system and discussed cooperation ways in the years to come.
Third, KFF discussed a series of books regarding future prediction and future strategy and cooperation ways in the coming years with Dr. Michael Keenan, future prediction expert, Manchester University. Fourth, KFF held the future prediction strategy workshop of the nation and the society by teaming up with the UN Future Forum on Oct. 2007.
Fifth, KFF published the first book among a series of books regarding the future prediction and future strategy: Toward Another Future: Foresight and Future Strategy. On November 5th, 2007, KFF inauguration commemorating seminar was held including inauguration congratulating keynote speech and special lecture, and presentation and discussion by a section.
In particular, a presentation subject by Dr. Kim Seong-tae, president, Institute of Korea Future Policy KFF garnered many interest from the press at home & abroad with interesting content regarding a direction presentation of national future strategy propulsion system in the Republic of Korea.
At the final part of that day inauguration seminar, The future declaration, was adapted with chairman Oh Myung's initiative while all members of the participants were on hand.
The future declaration wanted to present following direction.
1) Establish government operation system to prepare and to unfold national future vision and strategy
2) Unfold intellectual network construction and knowledge convergence movement for the national future
3) Construct future-oriented national cyber infrastructure
4) Construct national risk control system which can correspond with the future environment change
5) Head toward environmentally friendly and culture-friendly man-oriented future society
6) Beef up the future prediction and the future strategy capacity of public field and the nation.
