Startup helps groups win funding for ASEAN projects

CEO Kim Si-eun of ASEAN LAB works to bring Korea, ASEAN closer

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Korea have a long history of cooperation, which has been strengthened by the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund (AKCF).

Since its establishment in 1990, the fund has been utilized for Korea to provide technological, economic and human resource development and people-to-people exchanges to the 10 ASEAN member states — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

As the relationship between ASEAN and Korea has developed over the decades, the fund has continually been increasing in size.

Earlier this month, President Yoon Sukyeol announced that his administration is seeking to double the funding for the AKCF, from $16 million to $32 million, over the next five years.

These increases show the importance of the fund is growing and so is its allocation through projects.

Meanwhile, Kim Si-eun, founder of consulting startup ASEAN LAB and a former official of the ASEAN Cooperation Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seeks to serve as a bridge between the AKCF and local organizations to provide them with opportunities to carry out projects that will further strengthen diplomatic ties.

“When I first started at the ministry, the fund used to be $5 million, then it was $7 million. Now, it’s $16 million … And as the fund got bigger, more and more people started to make inquiries (about joining the fund’s projects),” the 39-year-old CEO said during a recent interview with The Korea Times at the newspaper’s office in central Seoul.

“AKCF is defined as official development assistance (ODA) — government aid designated for developing countries. But, things like the format for business proposals, paperwork and the way the business is operated are different (from other ODA projects) so the organizations and companies find it hard to take part in projects, even if they want to.”

Kim, who found interest in international

development while studying for a master’s in criminology at the University of Manchester, started working on the organizing committee for the Busan High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in 2010 after completing a global development master’s course at the same school.

Then in 2013, she took the position of a program officer at the ASEAN Cooperation Division, reviewing potential projects using the fund and handling ongoing projects.

“When I worked as the officer, I managed these projects so I couldn’t give them consultations. And I would feel sorry for not being able to help, and thought it would be nice to have someone who handles these issues,” she said.

So, she decided to take matters into her own hands and started her company in 2020, putting the expertise gathered from her years of experience at the ministry to use.

The process for an organization to apply to initiate a project with the fund takes a significant amount of effort and time. The proposal needs to be approved by a long list of related parties of both Korea and ASEAN, which includes related governmental organizations from each country and Korean ambassadors serving in all 10 ASEAN countries.

AKCF has supported over 420 programs and projects over the last 32 years and currently has 14 ongoing ones. Kim explained that the fund covers projects in various fields, including cultural programs.

“The projects are really diverse. Some are meant to fundamentally help with development (of ASEAN countries). But there are also cultural projects. One of the notable cultural projects from the fund is a program to support aspiring filmmakers, which is a long-running program by the Busan Film Commission. Two students from ASEAN countries are invited for a two-week workshop to take classes and make short films. And one of the students from Myanmar became a nationally acclaimed director,” she said.

In 2017, then-President Moon Jae-in announced the New Southern Policy — a core diplomatic initiative aimed at fostering mutual cooperation and prosperity between Korea and Southeast Asia and India. The policy and COVID-19 have strengthened two categories, economy and health, for AKCF to focus on, along with the existing categories such as education, culture and environment.

Kim shared that she has been getting consulting requests from various fields, with more organizations from different sectors seeking to initiate projects with the fund, adding that she is currently consulting on education, culture and smart city-related proposals.

“Since the New Southern Policy, more organizations have been trying to get their foot in the door to carry on the fund’s projects in more diverse fields,” she said. “And also, as the fund has been known more to the public, more people are coming to apply for it.”

Kim noted that continuing to strengthen the relationship between ASEAN and Korea is important as ASEAN nations are crucial trade partner countries, after China, and the region is where Koreans travel the most.

“As ASEAN consists of 10 countries, they actually make a massive synergy and all the developed countries are trying to build relations with it … so this has a somewhat political, symbolic meaning to secure our relationship with those countries,” she said.

The CEO set foot in the field with little knowledge about the ASEAN region, yet she came to fall in love with the countries and their people as she worked.

When the pandemic hit soon after she founded her company, putting limitations on doing business across borders, she took the time to share her love for ASEAN countries with people in Korea and build a foundation for her business, by publishing the book “ASEAN LAB,” and starting a YouTube channel.

“There are people who are familiar with its individual countries, but feel unfamiliar with ASEAN as a whole. So I tried to introduce ASEAN countries to those people in a friendly way,” she said.

Referring to the countries as close friends, Kim said that she hopes to provide direct support to people from ASEAN countries.

“I don’t know if this could come true, but I thought about making an ‘ASEAN lounge’ where people who are interested in the countries can come for cultural exchange, and immigrants or students from ASEAN countries can find jobs to teach there,” she said. “Ultimately, I hope to promote ASEAN countries in Korea more, and contribute to making the lives of the people from those countries better.”

The projects are really diverse. Some are meant to fundamentally help with development (of ASEAN countries). But there are also cultural projects.