EU Delegation to the Republic of Korea hosted a special event in honour of the International Women’s Day (IWD) on 7 March 2025 in Seoul. Under the theme "Towards More Resilient and Secure Democracies: Women in Security and Defence," this event brought together women with different backgrounds (academia, military officers, experts) from South Korea as well as Europe, emphasising their role in shaping more stable and resilient democratic societies. 

This event built on the EU-RoK Security and Defence partnership signed in November 2024 and provided a platform to discuss ways to strengthen women's leadership in these sectors. Aligned with UN Security Council Resolution 1325, this successful event emphasised the EU’s commitment to integrating gender equality into its Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), with 2025 marking the 25th anniversary of the resolution’s adoption. This event also built synergies with the EU project ‘Enhancing Security Cooperation In and With Asia and the Indo-Pacific’ (ESIWA+) by exploring challenges, successes and opportunities in advancing women’s participation in these fields. 

More than 150 participants (embassies from EU MS and third countries, RoK government, students, academia) gathered for this very timely event, which was also largely covered in the RoK press. 

Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Korea, 2025