Center for Unified Korean Future

Mission and vision

The Center for Unified Korean Future strives to achieve the “dream of harmony between South and North Korea and a unified Korean Peninsula.”

We are doing our utmost to expand the public consensus on peaceful unification and facilitate exchange and harmony between the youths of South and North Korea.

For the expansion of the public consensus for peaceful unification

We are working to increase communication between different generations and social classes, pursuing exchange between youths at home and abroad, and proactively cooperating with involved institutions and agencies.

For training of future generations for reunification

We are actively offering hands-on unification activities, nurturing leaders and professional manpower, and developing and distributing customized educational materials.

For support of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation

We are actively assisting with personal exchange, laying the foundation for youth exchange activities, and developing educational models for social integration.

Location and Facilities

The Center for Unified Korean Future is located in an area on the 38th parallel, symbolic of national division, and is near the Central Datum or the geographical center of the Korean Peninsula. It is also at the confluence of the Imjin River and the Hantan River, the rivers that start from the North and flow into the South. This location embodies inter-Korean harmony and unification.

Only an hour and a half drive from Seoul, the center is close to the beautiful Hantan-River Geopark and historical sites from the Three-Kingdoms era. It is also an hour drive to the border area where people can think about their country while viewing the northern land on the other side of the barbed wire.

The center is the ROK's first government-run education center where people can experience unification. It operates the Unified Future Experience Pavilion that provides hands-on experiences of a unified Korea, and it features a grand hall, group meeting rooms, a gymnasium, dormitories, an outdoor theater, a Korean Peninsula Touring site, a football field, a basketball court, a tennis court, a dining hall, a park, walks, and more.

Achievements and Future Plans

Since its opening on November 12, 2014, the center has offered specialized programs and unification experience programs, and a total of 189,283 people have participated so far.

The center runs a variety of youth programs including unification experience programs for youths to change their attitude toward reunification and further their understanding of the need for it.

Another example is programs for young North Korean defectors in which they can build leadership for reunification. Also available are programs for separated families between the two Koreas for their consolation and communication.

In addition, we run programs for Korean compatriots living abroad and students studying abroad to help them better understand the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the need for reunification, as well as diverse programs to expand the consensus on unification among the public.

For specific examples, we actively supported the North Korean youth football team, who stayed at the center while participating in the International Youth (U-15) Football Tournament held in Yeoncheon County, the ROK in November 2014, so that they could completely focus on their games.

Unfortunately, we have not been able to offer many unification programs since 2019 due to the outbreak of African swine fever in the border area in 2019 and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Since the center’s designation as a residential treatment center in December 2020, its facilities have been used to accommodate confirmed COVID-19 patients.

During the localized torrential downpours in August 2020, the center offered its facilities as a safe shelter for evacuating residents.

The Center for Unified Korean Future intends to offer more opportunities to envision a unified Korea through a wide range of hands-on activities regarding peaceful unification. Furthermore, we will strive to play a pivotal role for the two Koreas to overcome the tragedy of national division and achieve a peaceful and happy reunification.