The Distinguished Global Lecture Series is a special course provided every semester at the Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha Womans University. It consists of weekly special lectures by renowned guests who come from diverse backgrounds and fields. The special guests share their insight on international issues, as well as inspire the students with their career stories. This semester, GSIS was lucky to host 10 special guests, as well as co-host the William J. Perry lecture with the GSIS office. This blog post will give a general overview of the 10 lectures of the special guests, as well as my personal thoughts and experience as one of the TAs for DGLS this semester. For a more detailed summary of each lecture, please visit the official Instagram page of Ewha GSIS at @ewha_gsis! This is the first part of the two-part overview for this semester’s DGLS.
DGLS started off strong on March 15th, with Dr. Katy Kongdan Oh as the very first speaker of the semester. With the title “Professionals without Borders: The Globalization of Education and the Migration of Brains,” she shared her journey of having to fight through discrimination against women in the academia. Listening to how her professor refused to sign a letter of recommendation because she is a woman was infuriating. As women, it was inspiring to listen to how she fought through even worse circumstances than today, to arrive at where she is today. She is a fluent speaker of not only English and Korean, but also Japanese, Chinese, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. She needs to give herself more credit for serving senior roles at the Institute for Defense Analyses, the Brookings Institution, RAND Corporation, Council of Foreign Relations, Korea Economic Institute of America, and more. She is truly a role model for women aspiring to become scholars and researchers.
On March 22nd, Dr. Se-Woong Koo spoke about his fascinating journey of experiencing the academia, creating Korea Expose, and now working at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. During his lecture titled “How to Be a ‘Global’ Citizen: Transcending Borders, Negotiating Identities,” he spoke frankly about his search for identity as a global citizen, in both his personal and professional life. GSIS consists of a pool of students all over the world, and they study international relations, business, trade, and development cooperation. As international students studying such concepts in today’s globalized world, many were able to relate to his path and thoughts. He also set an example for the students to not feel pressured to only stick to one path, but to explore multiple interests and passions.
On March 29th, Mr. Hyungwon Kang shared his story as a photojournalist, with the lecture titled “Korean Identity in Pictures.” His captures of some of the most important turning points in history do not only come from his instincts, but also from his studies of Political Science and International Relations at the University of California in Los Angeles. With his understanding of diverse cultures and international issues, he was able to win two Pulitzer prizes, for covering the Lewinsky scandal and the Los Angeles Riots. It was inspiring to see how he came back to Korea to cover the 1987 Gwangju Uprising after becoming a renowned and stable photojournalist in the U.S. The fact that he holds on to his Korean identity and even puts efforts into recording a truly Korean perspective of Korea’s history through the photography of artifacts was moving.
On April 5th, GSIS students were lucky to have a young female researcher to come talk about her career and current work. Ms. Eunji Park, a former student at the Division of International Studies at Ewha Womans University. It is surely motivating to listen to lectures from high-level and senior experts, but it is also an eye-opening experience to be able to hear from someone who is just a couple years ahead of oneself. To hear from someone who has experienced the hiring process recently will benefit students immensely as they prepare to jump into the work force soon too. It was a great opportunity for students who are interested in working in non-governmental organizations in the future, as well as those interested in energy security and development cooperation.
On April 12th, Dr. Michael Hurt, a visual sociologist, photographer, and professor visited GSIS and gave a very interesting lecture titled, “Lensing Korea: Social Investigation from the Seoul Streets to Its Runways.” As a Korean who has seen, heard, and experienced the Korean society with a Korean lens and perspective, it was interesting to hear about how a foreigner saw the similar things as I did in different and similar ways. Students were not only impressed at his amazing photography skills, but also his way of integrating a unique approach to academia, through the actual physical lens of the camera.
On April 19th, the honorable Ms. Delia Domingo Albert, the former Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Philippines gave an inspirational lecture with the title “Building Networks in Global Diplomacy and International Relations.” While she did also emphasize the importance of networking and maintaining good relations, she also shared her passion for the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) as well as for gender equality. As the first woman Career Secretary, or Minister of the Foreign Affairs of the Philippines and in Asia, students were awed by her efforts and devotion to her passion. Students were intrigued as the honorable former ambassador Albert took them on a path along her career, with many exciting personal anecdotes.
After the exciting first two months of DGLS, students took a brief break from attending the weekly Friday lectures and focused on their studies for the midterm exam. The overview of the second half will be covered in the next blog post. The speakers for the second half were also as exciting and renowned as the first half, so please make sure to read the next post too!
Blog written by Dabin Choi.
Ewha GSIS 