Voluntary Agency Network of Korea

VANK (반크), an acronym for Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (사이버 외교사절단 반크), is an Internet-based South Korean organization funded by the Korean government and established in 1999, consisting of 120,000 South Korean members and 30,000 international members. They refer to themselves as a "cyber-diplomacy organization", and are mainly involved in spreading information about Korea to the world. They are politically motivated in their activities and frequently promote the Korean governments claims in various Japan-Korea disputes, Park Ki-Tae, founder of VANK has said "the project is aimed at isolating Japan".[1] Members are mainly junior high, and high school students, although university students are also counted among their members.[2]

Voluntary Agency Network of Korea
Hangul
사이버 외교사절단 반크
Revised RomanizationSaibeo oegyosajeoldan bankeu
McCune–ReischauerSaibŏ oegyosajŏltan pank'ŭ

Activities

Examples of campaigns they have conducted include spreading the story of the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo, and about Jikji, the world's oldest extant book printed using movable metal type.[3]

VANK publishes reading materials, postcards, maps, and videos. VANK's self-built online database and published books with information about Korea are acknowledged by overseas universities as recommended learning resources about Korea.[4][5][6][7] As a way to exchange cultures and connect with foreigners, VANK also conducts surveys about foreigners' opinion of Korea, such as a notable survey about what aspects of Korea interest foreigners the most.[8][9][10]

VANK disputes certain terms and information regarding Korea's geographic names or about Korean history.[11][12] The head of the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea said the organization has corrected hundreds of mistaken statements by foreign governments about South Korea.[13] VANK also raises awareness for Japanese war crimes.[14]

In 2013 they launched a campaign against the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. They sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) opposing the games because "Japan has no remorse for war crimes.”, the letter was also sent to major foreign media such as CNN and the New York Times. On January 6, 2020 a poster was put on a temporary fence on the site of the new Japanese embassy in Jong Chiyo Road, Nono District. In the posters, the Tokyo Games are contaminated by nuclear radiation, in one scene the Olympic Torch Relay is depicted with a man in a hazmat suit transporting radioactive material. They also produced stamps and coins with similar imagery. [15]

In 2020, VANK posted an online petition titled "Stop China's cyber chauvinism which lynched a Korean celebrity!" urging Chinese netizens to stop 'cyberbullying' a Korean celeb [16] VANK frequently creates online petitions.

Funding

VANK is a non-governmental and private organization. According to VANK, they do not receive money from any organization or corporation, and are run by donations.[17][18] In fact, they receive funds from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of South Korea,[19] along with multiple corporate donors.[15] The amount paid by the government has decreased, from 80 million won in 2006 to 30 million won in 2008.[20][21]

Criticism

VANK has been accused of promoting Korea while attacking Japan. Critics claim that VANK has attempted to bully and discount Japan and Japanese culture, manipulate history during and after World War II and have other countries believe in distorted perspectives related to Japanese-Korean history that have a bias favoring Korea.[1][22][15]

An About.com spokesman, relating his company's decision to use the name "East Sea" to refer to the body of water otherwise known as the Sea of Japan, stated that they chose to use the name "not necessarily because it agreed with the South Korean geography activists but because the e-mail bombardment was annoying." In the About.com case, it received more than 20 e-mails per day for more than a year before it finally changed the name.[23][24]

In Asia Times Online, it was reported that the South Korean government is offering rewards to the students who participate in the activities of VANK, most of which are centered on the issues of the Sea of Japan.[24]

VANK is also selective about its targets. While they are aggressively campaigning against Japan, they appear to have little interest in the historical and geographical issues with China. It has never challenged the name "Yellow Sea", the body of water between China and Korea, which is normally referred to as "Sohae" meaning "West Sea" by the Korean.[24][25]

See also

References
  1. 왕길환 (2013-05-03). "반크, '아시아서 일본 왕따시키기' 전략 펼친다". 연합뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  2. "About VANK". Bring Korea to the U.S classroom!. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  3. "반크(VANK), 직지세계화에 나선다", The Chosun Ilbo, 2006-09-25, retrieved 2006-09-25
  4. East Asia Languages and Cultures University of Notre Dame
  5. Multicultural Resources Angelo State University
  6. Korean studies for Global Understanding George Mason University
  7. Center for Korean Studies UCLA
  8. Korean cooking classes available for expats October 26, 2010 Korea Herald
  9. Korea’s Cyber Vigilantes foreignpolicy
  10. About VANK VANK
  11. "CIA gets its Korea facts wrong", The Inquirer, 2006-12-13, retrieved 2007-10-06
  12. Northeast Asia's intra-mural mural wars By David Scofield Dec 23, 2003, Asiatimes
  13. Organization corrects South Korea errors UPI, 15-DEC-06
  14. "VANK to highlight war crimes committed by Japan's Unit 731".
  15. "The identity of VANK". Hanadaプラス│月刊誌・月刊『Hanada』ウェブ版. 2020-03-07. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  16. "Civic group launches campaign urging Chinese netizens to stop 'cyberbullying' Korean celeb". koreatimes. 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  17. Interview of VANK(in Korean) dcnews, 2008-12-01
  18. History Distortion, Do not Move! hanyangian.com
  19. "Official Support for 'Cyber Diplomats' to Continue", The Chosun Ilbo, 2008-10-22, retrieved 2008-10-28
  20. "반크 정부 지원예산 삭감에 네티즌 반발 거세", Asia Today, 2008-10-21, retrieved 2008-10-21
  21. "VANK支援問題：李大統領、予算配分を直接指示", The Chosun Ilbo, 2008-10-25, archived from the original on 2008-10-26, retrieved 2008-10-25
  22. "반크,'일본 디스카운트' 운동". m.munhwa.com (in Korean). 2005-03-25. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  23. Sea of Japan vs. East Sea, About.com: Geography, February 24, 2002
  24. Scofield, David (2003-12-23), "Northeast Asia's intra-mural mural wars", Asia Times, archived from the original on 2012-07-18, retrieved 2007-10-06
  25. "The Name Sea of Japan (Japan Sea) : JHOD". www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
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