Seoul – As interest in the Republic of Korea (ROK) grows in how to respond to international humanitarian emergencies, increasing numbers of Korean aid workers are being deployed abroad. Building their capacity to work effectively in emergency settings is a major challenge. 

IOM ROK and the Korea NGO Council for Overseas Development Cooperation (KCOC) this week co-hosted a humanitarian forum, “Towards more effective and accountable humanitarian action: strengthening capacities and partnership of Korean aid workers,” in Seoul. 

Bringing together more than 70 participants from government agencies, NGOs and academia, this week’s event introduced a newly created online humanitarian platform: “Humanitarian Assistance Insight.” Or Injiin in Korean.  

Developed by IOM and the KCOC, Injiin provides online access to relevant training materials, manuals, global standards and other up-to-date information.  

It is available (in Korean) here: https://inji.info/ 

“Along with the Government of Korea’s strong commitment to humanitarian assistance, more aid workers from government agencies and NGOs have been dispatched to respond to overseas emergencies,” said IOM ROK Head of Office Mihyung Park.  

“Timely and effective humanitarian responses require systematic information-sharing and better access to essential data. Injiin can serve as a central knowledge-sharing repository by promoting knowledge sharing among Korean humanitarians,” she added.  

“In field operations, I often refer to manuals and principles to find appropriate ways of intervention. Since language and accessibility are major challenges among Korean aid workers, Injiin will be a useful tool for humanitarians in ROK and abroad by providing essential information on time,” said a Korean NGO manager who attended the launch.  

Speakers at the forum included Gyeong-a Lee, Deputy Director General of the Development Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), who provided an overview of ROK’s humanitarian framework, presenting its current strategy, key achievements, limitations and ways forward.  

Dae-sik Cho, Secretary General of the KCOC, also spoke. He highlighted the importance of strengthening capacities of ROK NGOs to align with international standards and encouraged the participants’ active engagement on the Injiin platform. 

IOM ROK, with funding from the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), has provided a wide range of trainings and workshops for Korean aid workers. Recent events include a Gender-Based Violence Workshop and Data Analysis and Management Training.  

For more information please contact IOM ROK. Mihyung Park, Tel: +82 70 4820 2781, Email: mipark@iom.int or Jumi Kim, Tel: +82 (0)70 4820 0292, Email: jukim@iom.int