The Korean National Association Memorial Foundation, chaired by Jennifer Choi, the Hwarang Youth Foundation, led by Park Yoon-sook, and Voluntary Agency Network of Korea, headed by Park Gi-tae, held a joint seminar on March 30, 2026 (local time) at the foundation’s conference room in Los Angeles, California, USA, where they announced plans to establish a new form of transnational digital democracy platform tentatively named the “Global AI Youth Assembly.”
Following the war in Ukraine, the functions of existing multilateral organizations, including the United Nations, have been effectively paralyzed due to the abuse of veto power by a small number of major powers and rising national self-interest. To fill this growing gap in global governance, the three organizations proposed a “global digital youth assembly” model led by 7.5 million overseas Koreans across some 170 countries and 200 million global fans of Korean culture, pledging to carry forward the vision of their predecessors who founded the Korean National Association a century ago.
The “Global AI Youth Assembly” declared at the seminar will operate on the synergy of the three organizations’ global networks, capabilities, and shared identity.
At its core, the assembly draws constitutional legitimacy and historical continuity from the Korean National Association’s spirit of “transnational democracy,” which united Koreans abroad 117 years ago in San Francisco after the loss of national sovereignty. The Hwarang Youth Foundation, with 7,500 youth members across 19 countries, will serve as the global offline action network. Meanwhile, VANK—having spent more than two decades training Korean youth as digital and AI diplomats and running national policy platforms—will leverage large language models (LLMs) and prompt engineering to transform Korean and global youth into “AI diplomats,” “AI lawmakers,” and “AI international organization officials,” advancing a new AI-powered republic for global governance.
The proposed assembly will not rely on closed-door meetings dominated by major powers. Instead, young people worldwide will identify both national and global challenges—such as the climate crisis, refugee relief, and the return of looted cultural assets—while AI analyzes laws and data from different countries to generate the most rational policy resolutions and proposals for legal and institutional reform in multiple languages. These proposals will then be developed into global campaigns to shape public opinion, gathering input from digital citizens regardless of nationality. Verified and effective solutions will be directly implemented through the Hwarang Youth Foundation’s local branches and VANK’s global policy platforms and social media, creating an innovative system that links policy development to real-world action.
The initiative is expected to represent Korea’s challenge to the existing world order led by major powers and a declaration of a new civilization model driven by the country.
In his remarks, Park Gi-tae said, “At a time when major powers neglect the international order for their own interests, Korean youth will step forward as architects of the future for 8 billion people, guided by the spirit of ‘Hongik Ingan’—benefiting all humanity—and equipped as AI diplomats.” He added that “this journey marks the beginning of Korea’s rise beyond an economic and cultural power to a moral global leader.” He also projected that Korea would bring together the intellectual and human resources of 7.5 million overseas Koreans and 200 million global fans of Korean culture to emerge as a platform nation capable of addressing global challenges beyond the United Nations.
Kwon So-young of VANK said the organization has operated civic policy platforms such as “Woollim” and “Yeollim,” enabling Korean youth to take part in shaping national policies. “Building on this experience, we will train Korean and global youth as AI diplomats to help design a system of global governance that goes beyond the United Nations,” she said. Fellow researcher Koo Seung-hyun added that just as VANK has worked to correct inaccuracies about Korean history and culture in textbooks worldwide, it will now take the lead with Korean youth globally to address broader global inaccuracies.
Park Yoon-sook, president of the Hwarang Youth Foundation, said, “Over the past 24 years, our 7,500 youth members worldwide have demonstrated action beyond borders, from refugee relief in Ukraine to medical volunteer work.” She added that with AI as a powerful tool, they will grow into active agents capable of addressing global issues beyond the classroom.
Jennifer Choi, chair of the Korean National Association Memorial Foundation, emphasized the significance of solidarity, saying, “Just as the hard-earned independence funds collected by our ancestors more than a century ago united the Korean people, today’s advanced digital ecosystem will elevate 7.5 million members of the diaspora as key contributors to global peace.”
Clara Won, head of future cooperation at the foundation, said, “The fact that this vision—of Korean and overseas youth filling the gap left by the United Nations—begins in California creates a powerful narrative, linking the historic birthplace of the independence movement abroad 117 years ago with a new transnational digital alliance for solving global challenges in the 21st century.”
The three organizations expressed confidence that the experience of overseas Koreans forming a self-governing body through the Korean National Association during a time of national crisis will serve as a major asset in positioning Koreans as architects of a global digital governance platform for 8 billion people.
Following the seminar, the organizations plan to move forward with an official launch ceremony, introduce the first agenda of the “Global AI Youth Assembly,” and begin global campaigns in collaboration with young people worldwide.