Japan-Korea Students Learn About Environment through Water

The 7th "Environment Gathering of Korea-Japan University Students" was held in Japan on August 11 to 17, 2004. Fifteen students from South Korea and 13 from Japan participated in the gathering, cultivated friendships, and learned about environmental issues on the theme of water.

In the first half of the program, students from both countries visited Teganuma in Chiba Prefecture, a suburb of Tokyo and learned about environmental efforts by the local government and citizens. Teganuma Pond was considered the most polluted pond in Japan for the 27 years leading up to 2000. They toured the pond by boat and surveyed its water quality with the cooperation of a non-profit organization (NPO) known as 'Sekken-no-machi' (meaning "soap town") and Abiko City. In the latter half of the event, they returned to Tokyo and discussed issues concerning the water environment in the urban areas. They also introduced their own cultures, customs and environmental activities to each other and exchanged views.

This program was co-hosted by Eco-League (the Japan Youth Ecology League), a Japanese non-governmental organization (NGO) that networks for youth involved in environmental issues, and the Green Network, a Korean NGO. About 20 students from each country who are concerned about environmental issues participate in the program every summer. The purpose of this program is to develop mutual exchanges between the two countries on various dimensions, while understanding the present environmental situations. It has been held in Japan and Korea alternately every year. For the future, both NGOs intend to develop a permanent collaboration system between the students from Japan and South Korea, rather of the one-off experiences in the annual program.



Posted: 2004/12/17 04:31:19 PM
Japanese version