2019: Seoul Democracy Forum

Seoul, 19.11.2019

Seoul Democracy Forum (SDF)

About Korea Democracy Foundation & Background of 2019 SDF

Korea Democracy Foundation(KDF) was established to contribute to the development of democracy by
carrying out projects to memorialize the democratization movement and inherit its spirit in accordance with
the Korea Democracy Foundation Act passed into legislation on June 28, 2001.

KDF carries out support projects and organizes events to develop the democracy movement, such as the
establishment and operation of the Democracy and Human Rights Memorial Hall. It also collects, digitizes,
manages, and researches documents for the historical organization of the democratization movement as well
as the democratization movement artifacts preservation, management, and publication.

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Especially, the construction project has been accelerated in the place of the ‘Namyoung‐dong anti‐communist
interrogation office’ building which used to be a camouflaged torture site under the dictatorship in the 1970‐
80s.

In accordance, KDF seeks to draw out the following outcomes through the 2019 Seoul Democracy Forum:

First, prior to the start of the construction project as per KDF's plan to build the Democracy and Human Rights
Memorial Hall, KDF would like to hear from International Memorial Museum experts to learn from their
experiences.

Second, 2019 SDF aims to become an open‐learning ground for Korean civil society, giving them an
opportunity to learn from globally renowned experts. Likewise, since it is important to educate the future
generation on history, concrete examples of violations against human rights during the dictatorial era may be
seen through the unveiling of the Democracy and Human Rights Memorial Hall project.

Third, two main themes that KDF aims to realize through the Democracy and Human Rights Memorial Hall are
democracy and human rights. KDF intends to reflect on the experiences of the overseas memorial museums
including their successful cases and lessons learned from the mistakes. It will be about the whole process of
the establishment including planning, management, exhibition, and education programs. ....

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