Geoffrey See
 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (July 2020) |
Geoffrey See | |
|---|---|
| Born | Singapore |
| Education |
|
| Occupation(s) | Chairman of Choson Exchange, Entrepreneur, Board Member |
| Known for | Entrepreneurship in North Korea |
Geoffrey See is an entrepreneur, founder and Chairman of non-profit group Choson Exchange, which supports change in North Korea through exposure to knowledge and information in business, entrepreneurship and law. The organization has trained more than 2000 North Koreans.[1]
In 2019, Geoffrey was nominated to the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader and as a Council Member to World Economic Forum's Global Future Council for the Korean Peninsula, co-chaired by Moon Chung-In and Angela Kane.[2]
Founding Choson Exchange[edit]
After spending 2 years working on North Korean issues outside of North Korea, See visited the country in 2007 and was surprised that young North Koreans were deeply interested in business and entrepreneurship. He was deeply impacted when a North Korean university student told him that she wanted to go into business to prove that females can be business leaders in a patriarchal society. He spent two years trying to find a way to educate this emerging generation inside the country. In 2009, he founded Choson Exchange.[3]
Geoffrey founded Choson Exchange and developed it into the largest business network in North Korea and the most active organization training Koreans in business, economics and entrepreneurship. By 2018, Choson Exchange has trained over 2000 North Koreans, brought over 100 volunteers to North Korea and over 100 Koreans to Singapore.[4][5] See is frequently cited in the media on changes in North Korea's economy, society and business environment.[6][7] See's work on Choson Exchange has been profiled as a Harvard Business School case study and in the BBC, Financial Times, The Economist, The Atlantic, Joongang Ilbo, The Straits Times and other media.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
The Washington Post in 2018 cited Choson Exchange's work as part of the rationale for Singapore hosting the first Summit between the leaders of the United States and DPRK, Donald J. Trump and Kim Jong Un.[15]
Singapore–South Korea relations[edit]
In July 2018, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon visited Singapore and held a meeting with Geoffrey See and Choson Exchange to express appreciation for their work introducing economic policy, business and entrepreneurship knowledge to DPR Koreans.[16] After the meeting, Mayor Park told South Korean media that Seoul should initiate startup exchanges with North Korea, with the work of Choson Exchange as a reference for what is possible and should be done.[17]
References[edit]
- ^ "Our Programs". Choson Exchange. Retrieved Feb 20, 2015.
- ^ "World Economic Forum". Choson Exchange. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ Long, Sue. "Linking Hermit Kingdom to the world". the Straits Times. Retrieved Mar 10, 2014.
- ^ "Meet the young Singaporeans building bridges with North Koreans". Retrieved Jun 18, 2018.
- ^ "Man who Teaches North Koreans Business". Retrieved Jun 18, 2018.
- ^ "In the News". Choson Exchange. Retrieved Feb 20, 2015.
- ^ MacLellan, Lila. "Geoffrey See Is Training North Koreans to Be Entrepreneurs". Institutional Investor. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved Jul 2, 2015.
- ^ "Going Rogue: Choson Exchange in North Korea". Harvard Business School. Retrieved Nov 2, 2016.
- ^ Mundy, Simon. "North Korea's business guides". Financial Times. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
- ^ "What does North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Really Want?". BBC. Retrieved Feb 20, 2015.
- ^ Tricks, Henry. "Cheeseburger in Paradise Island". The Economist. Retrieved Jun 20, 2013.
- ^ Benner, Tom. "Some North Koreans get Business Internships in Singapore". The Atlantic. Retrieved Jun 11, 2013.
- ^ Kim, Sarah. "North Koreans in Singapore". JoongAng Ilbo. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
- ^ Long, Sue. "Linking Hermit Kingdom to the world". the Straits Times. Retrieved Mar 10, 2014.
- ^ "Trump and Kim will meet in Singapore 2018". Washington Post. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ 손, 손대선. "박원순, 北전문 싱가포르 NGO단체와 간담회…서울·평양 협력 조언 구해". JoongAng Ilbo. Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ^ Korea, Times. "Seoul in search of entrepreneurs for NK". Retrieved Jul 10, 2018.