KATHMANDU, Jan 11: Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has dispatched two new Korea Overseas Volunteers (KOVs) to work in Nepal. They arrived in Kathmandu on Wednesday. They will be sent to their concerned organizations on February 9, 2024 after completing the local adaptation training program.
According to a press statement issued by KOICA Nepal Office, Kyungdong Kim is set to be assigned to the Korean Language sector at Bishwa Bhasa Campus, Kathmandu, while Youngman Lim will be deployed to the Tourism sector in Namobuddha Municipality, Kavre. Since KOICA re-launched its KOV program in December 2021 after a brief hiatus following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, a total of 16 KOVs have been dispatched to Nepal in various sectors.
“The volunteers will take one month of a local adaptation training program in Kathmandu where they will learn about Nepalese society, culture, tradition as well as language. Such an adaptation program will be helpful for them to adjust and work in their concerned community/organization enabling them to be familiar with the Nepalis environment,” said the statement.
“The objective of the KOV program is to focus more on transferring Korean knowledge and experiences directly at the grassroots level. However, these programs aimed to improve the quality of life of people in partner countries to strengthen the friendship and mutual understanding between Korea and partner countries and to help in the efforts to achieve development goals set by the international community,” the statement further said.
Since 1990, KOICA volunteers have been assigned to different government organizations both within and outside the Kathmandu valley, in response to the requests and demands of the Nepal government. They contribute to diverse sectors such as education, health, agriculture, IT, tourism, and more.
As of now, a total of 436 volunteers have been sent to Nepal, with eight KOICA volunteers presently engaged in active roles within various government institutions located in the Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Kaski Districts.