By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province will further expand its exchange and cooperation with APEC member economies on the occasion of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Education Ministers' Meeting in Jeju.

On May 13, Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon met with the senior delegations of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the United States attending the APEC Education Ministers' Meeting at the Jeju International Convention Center (ICC) to discuss global location programs and ways to expand human and cultural exchanges.

In a meeting with Abdul Muti, Indonesia's Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Oh discussed ways to strengthen exchange and cooperation between the two regions, especially the transfer of Jeju's resource circulation model to Bontang City, Indonesia, and the application of technologies related to Jeju's distributed energy special zone to Indonesia.

“Jeju Island will be designated as a distributed energy special zone in the first half of the year, and if this system is applied to Indonesia, it will be a new business model,” said Oh. ”In a region with a large area such as Indonesia, a distributed energy system that generates small-scale power and uses it locally may be more suitable.”

In response, Minister Abdul Muti said, “Installing solar panels will be a great help as 40% of rural areas in Indonesia have no electricity,” and proposed education and energy cooperation through a twinning program between Jeju Island and the Indonesian state government. He also hoped to exchange waste-related technologies.

“The Indonesian Ministry of Education has prioritized improving the quality of education for all citizens and is strengthening exchange cooperation with various countries,” he said, adding, ”If we establish twinning with Indonesian provinces and cities in line with the policies promoted by Jeju Island, we can develop new business models.”

Governor Oh Young-hoon also met with Zainal Bin Abas, Deputy Director General of the Malaysian Ministry of Education, and proposed expanding exchanges in various fields such as education, culture, and tourism.

“I hope that the exchange cooperation between Jeju Island and Malaysia will expand not only to student exchanges but also to exchanges between local governments,” said Oh. ”Starting with exchange cooperation between universities, it would be a good example of local diplomacy if a letter of intent for exchange cooperation between Malaysian local governments with universities and Jeju Island is signed.”

“Jeju Island has good conditions for Malaysian students to participate in Learncation in Jeju, as they can stay visa-free for one month,” said Oh. ”We will continue to work with the Korean Embassy in Malaysia to establish direct flights and charter flights with Malaysia.”

“We are exploring opportunities for cooperation between our two countries on the occasion of the APEC Education Ministers' Meeting,” said Mr. Zainal, adding, ”As Jeju Learncation is based on a university, we will actively cooperate with the Ministry of Education to facilitate exchanges with Malaysian universities.”

“It is important to understand different cultures and races from a young age,” he said, suggesting a homestay program between Jeju and Malaysian students, especially since there are currently about 2,000 students learning Korean in 26 schools in Malaysia, and he would like to see them experience the culture in Jeju.

The two sides also discussed the possibility of inviting Malaysian local government governors to Jeju's Tamra Cultural Festival in October.

During the meeting with Amber Mariano Davis, policy advisor to the U.S. Department of Education, the two sides discussed ways to expand educational cooperation and launch programs between the two countries.

Oh noted that Princeton University will operate a seasonal semester program on Jeju starting in July, highlighting the island's emergence as a new educational destination for American university students.

During the meeting, Oh explained the historical background of the friendship between the two countries, citing the role of the Jeju horse “Reckless” in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. Late last year, a statue of Reckless was unveiled at Jeju Racecourse Park in the presence of the commander of the US Marine Corps in Korea.

The two sides discussed the possibility of expanding the current general launch program to more sector-specific programs in the future as it matures into a more mature stage.

In particular, Jeju Island's focus on the private space industry, urban air traffic (UAM), and renewable energy-based energy transformation projects are expected to play an important role in educational and academic exchanges and private sector cooperation.

Jeju Island said the meetings provided an opportunity to strengthen cooperation with APEC member economies in the field of education and to promote Jeju's location brand internationally.

Going forward, Jeju will continue to discuss specific exchange and cooperation plans with each country and take follow-up measures to lead to tangible results.