The Division of Understanding Korea Project Center for International Affairs of the Academy of Korean Studies hosted "Online Textbook Seminar for Educators of Uzbekistan " for three days from July 28, 2021 (Wednesday) to July 30 (Friday), 2021. Four people attended the program -- head of the Republican Education Center under Uzbekistan's Ministry of Public Education, and three researchers from the Center – one each in history, geography and science department.

The training program was conducted online due to the global spread of COVID-19. Uzbekistani participants in the program attended a seminar with Korean speakers, including the researchers of the Division of Understanding Korea Project, to look over the two countries’ educational system, textbook system, and the way Korea-related contents are written in Uzbekistan's social studies textbooks. The seminar helped the participants discuss prospects of education in the two countries and ways to promote educational and academic cooperation.

Meanwhile, the Academy of Korean Studies and the Uzbekistani Republican Education Center agreed to cooperate to expand educational and academic exchanges including organization of regular seminars and conferences. The two institutions also shared the view that the two countries make mutual efforts to put accurate and plentiful contents about each other in their textbooks.

The training program participants from the Uzbekistan Republic Education Center expressed interest in lectures on Korea's economy, cultural similarities and exchanges between Korea and Uzbekistan. They empathized with the common elements of the two countries’ cultures and presented their opinions on ways to maintain and expand cooperative relations between the two countries. The Uzbekistani participants also expressed interest in interpreting and approaching Korean culture from a fresh viewpoint and mentioned that the program offered an opportunity for them to have a positive attitude in understanding Korean culture.

The textbook experts from Uzbekistan who participated in the Korean culture training program said they were watchful of the COVID-19situation, and praised highly the advanced level of Korea's quarantine system and online education. They hoped to visit Korea in person to have diverse experience and discuss ways of educational cooperation between the two countries. They also discussed specific measures to maintain wide relations between Korea and Uzbekistan, including cooperation on textbooks.