In October, the Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange held a ceremony at the Bandung Institute of Technology for the opening of the Young Creator Indonesia Fashion Institute (YCIFI) and K-Lounge with Samsung Smart Library, which were established as a follow-up measure to the mutual agreement made between Korea and Indonesia on May 16, 2016, in order to bolster bilateral cooperation in the field of creative industries including fashion.

The first batch of students to study at YCIFI and about 120 Korean Wave fans residing in Bandung participated in the ceremony to celebrate the launch of the institute. Director Yeong-jin Gwak of the foundation, which is the organization supervising the project; Boy Berawi, the deputy head of research, education, and development of the Creative Economy Agency of Indonesia; President Kadarsah Suriyadi of the Bandung Institute of Technology; Minister Tae-jin Kim of the Korean Embassy in Indonesia; Director Seok-gi Kim of the Korean Cultural Center in Indonesia; and Vice-President Gang-hyeon Lee of Samsung Electronics in Indonesia, among others, participated in the ceremony to convey their congratulatory and encouraging messages.

YCIFI, which was established for the win-win growth of the Korean and Indonesian fashion industries as well as to reinforce Indonesian youth’s self-reliance, is an educational institute approved by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Indonesian Creative Economy Agency. Beginning October 11, it will manage job training courses and professional design courses to train the professional workforce for the Indonesian fashion industry together with Indonesian youth engineers.

K-Lounge, which is a space for experiencing the Korean Wave culture, was built in the Campus Center of the Bandung Institute of Technology. It will be open not only to the students of the institute but also to the general public, for them to personally experience Korean Wave contents using IT devices such as tablets, gear VRs, and home theaters supported by Samsung Electronics. It will also regularly manage “Korean Film and Drama Nights” and serve as a meeting place of Korean Wave fans for the further spread of Korean Wave in the region.