The Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (VANK) announced the launch of the ‘Global Ubuntu Ambassadors’ website—a platform designed to correct widespread prejudice and distorted perceptions of Africa in the international community, while fostering Korea-Africa solidarity and cooperation through grassroots diplomacy led by Korean youth.
Led by VANK, the site aims to improve Africa’s image beyond negative stereotypes such as “poverty, war, and disease,” and to introduce the continent’s true diversity and potential to the world. A total of 91 young people have joined as Global Ubuntu Ambassadors and will actively engage in online campaigns. The general public can also participate in the effort to spread accurate knowledge about Africa through the website.
Africa is the world’s largest cultural treasure trove, home to thousands of years of splendid civilizations and histories, hundreds of diverse ethnic groups and languages, and rich traditions in art and music. Nevertheless, distorted images and information rooted in long-term colonialism and Western-centric views have spread widely, leading many to see Africa solely as a “continent in need of aid.” A recent analysis by VANK of five Korean elementary social studies textbooks revealed that Africa is often portrayed only as a recipient of aid, reinforcing biases centered on poverty and hunger.
Park Ki-tae, director of VANK, said, “While we have spent the past 20 years correcting prejudices and distortions about Korea abroad, now we want to apply the spirit of Ubuntu to challenge Western misconceptions about Africa.” As a concrete example, together with senior researcher Lee Jung-ae, VANK produced and released a Robinson projection world map centered on Africa, correcting the distorted sizes from the commonly used Mercator projection. This effort aims to improve geographical understanding and help educators convey Africa’s true standing.
To support this mission, VANK recruited Global Ubuntu Ambassadors to promote and support Africa’s diversity, and created a dedicated website. The site features six main sections plus an English version:
- Main Page
- We Are Global Ubuntu Ambassadors
- Turning Indifference into Interest
- Turning Interest into Action
- Turning Action into Movement
- The Great Journey
- Ubuntu News
Each section offers step-by-step content and guides to dismantle stereotypes and spread correct understanding of Africa.
The Main Page serves as the starting point with a worldview centered on Africa, featuring the Robinson projection world map with Africa at its center. This helps users intuitively grasp Africa’s true scale and position while correcting map-based biases. It also explains the meaning of the Ubuntu spirit—“I am because you are” in the Bantu language—and why it is important to care about Africa, helping visitors understand the philosophy behind the campaign.
The We Are Global Ubuntu Ambassadors section introduces the ambassadors and their mission, showing how ordinary young people grow into citizen diplomats who act as bridges between Africa and the world.
The Turning Indifference into Interest section collects content designed to awaken interest by correcting common misunderstandings and prejudices about Africa. It highlights the 54 countries’ unique cultures and histories and recent developments, conveying the message that “Africa is not one country.”
The Turning Interest into Action section guides those interested to take concrete steps. It suggests ways to participate in SNS promotional campaigns to share Africa’s true image and provides ideas for practical actions. It also advises how to challenge misinformation about Africa in global media through emails or campaigns.
The Turning Action into Movement section presents cases of organized and sustained action, including domestic efforts like Korea’s official development assistance (ODA) to Africa, and international cooperation between African countries and major overseas partners.
The The Great Journey section highlights VANK’s past activities to correct narrow views about Africa, including campaigns to improve perceptions at home and abroad, creation of Africa-centered world maps, and initiatives to correct Africa-related content in elementary school textbooks.
The Ubuntu News section serves as a news board sharing the latest updates on the campaign, including cooperation between VANK and Yonhap News Agency to deliver African news and reports on ambassador activities—helping visitors continuously build accurate knowledge about Africa.
Youth researchers Jeong In-sung and Park Ji-eun directly participated in the site’s content planning and structure. Jung said, “Africa is not simply a ‘poor continent’ but the cradle of human civilization with diverse cultures. From the start, we designed the website to be easily accessible and engaging for everyone, so it can help people move beyond limited, distorted images to see Africa’s true face.” Park added, “Many images of Africa we have encountered are based on biased information. This site is not just for ambassadors but for anyone to participate like a global Ubuntu ambassador. Even small, concrete actions can be the starting point for changing perceptions about Africa.”
Park Ki-tae emphasized, “This website is a grassroots diplomacy platform created with Korean youth to challenge international prejudices about Africa. Having corrected distorted images of Korea worldwide, VANK now opens a new chapter of diplomacy to tackle misconceptions about Africa with Korean youth.” He continued, “Based on the spirit of Ubuntu, we hope to reveal Africa’s true nature to the world and establish a new public diplomacy model led by young people.”
Meanwhile, VANK and Yonhap News Agency signed a memorandum of understanding to cultivate Global Ubuntu Ambassadors, leveraging the power of 200 million Hallyu fans worldwide to improve awareness of Africa and showcase its potential and value.
VANK operates national policy proposal and communication platforms called Woollim and Yeollim to develop Korea’s outstanding policies as part of Hallyu. These platforms share Korean policies with the world and contribute to raising global awareness.
Through these efforts, VANK hopes to broaden the interest of 200 million Hallyu fans beyond popular culture to encompass Korea’s brilliant history, and to develop “K-Policy Hallyu” that drives changes in Korea and global policies.
This will help position 21st-century Korea as a central nation in Asia, a gateway to Northeast Asia, and a country that shares dreams and friendship worldwide—building a new national brand that leads global change.