■ Institute of Middle East Studies hosts a spring conference jointly with Korea Association of Arabic Language & Literature and Dankook University’s GCC Institute

The HUFS Institute of Middle East Studies (Director Park Jae-Won) held the 2022 Spring Joint Conference with the Korea Association of Arabic Language & Literature and the GCC Institute of Dankook University on June 4, 2022 (Saturday). Held under the theme “Diaspora in Post-Arab Spring: Language and Literature”, the conference consisted of three sessions, including a special session offered by the Humanities and Social Science Research Project Agency of the Institute.

Bringing Middle East scholars at home and abroad together, the academic event served as a venue for presentations and in-depth discussion on various topics, broadening the horizons of Arab and Middle East studies in the nation.

■ Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence holds a joint international symposium with the European Chamber of Commerce

On July 1, 2022 (Friday), the HUFS Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (Director Kim Si-Hong, JMCE) held an international symposium with the European Chamber of Commerce (President Christoph Heider) under the theme “Korea-EU Strategic Cooperation and Prospects” at a conference room on the 11th floor of the Main Building on the Seoul Campus.

With 2023 set to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and the EU, the Yoon administration sees cooperation with the EU as essential, not optional, to its foreign policy framework, as seen in its 110 national policy tasks, especially in the areas of ▲ building a cooperation network for co-prosperity, ▲ pursuing proactive diplomacy for economic security, and ▲ strengthening its capacity as a global pivot country to meet its international status. As the existing paradigm of multilateralism has given way to nationalism and the world is subsequently divided into new profit-blocs, cooperation with the EU that shares a common goal is gaining importance, and new developments are expected in security cooperation with NATO.

■ Institute of Latin American Studies HK+ National Strategies Research Project Agency holds a joint summer conference with the Korean Association of Lusophone Area Studies and Korea Brazil Society

The HUFS Institute of Latin American Studies HK+ National Strategies Research Project Agency (Director Shin Jeong-Hwan) held a summer conference with the Korean Association of Lusophone Area Studies and Korea Brazil Society (KOBRAS) on June 17, 2022 (Friday). The conference was held at the FILA Acushnet Hall of the Smart Library on the Seoul Campus under the theme “Seeking Brazil’s Sustainable Development Strategies in Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of Its Independence”.

The event offered three sessions. The first session explored the main theme, presenting prospects of Brazil’s industrial ecosystem and education and its diplomatic policies. In addition, the conference presented a special session entitled “The Road of the Amazon”, which was joined by researchers of the HUFS HK+ Project and covered topics such as the value of the Amazon in terms of Brazil’s territorial integration, the ongoing severe deforestation in the Amazon, and the resulting climate change. The last follow-up generation session covered interesting research themes and methodologies through presentations, including a study on Carnival in Rio, an analysis of China’s public diplomacy strategy in Latin America using the Confucius Institute, and comparative research on Korean and Brazilian labor laws.

■ HK+ National Strategies Research Project Agency of HUFS Center for International Area Studies Research holds the 2nd Culture and Strategies Forum for the Korean Peninsula and the North jointly with World Taekwondo, Joongang Daily, and KOTRA

The HK+ National Strategies Research Project Agency of the HUFS Center for International Area Studies Research (Head Gang Jun-Young, the “Agency”) hosted the 2nd Culture and Strategies Forum for the Korean Peninsula and the North on May 25, 2022 (Wednesday), jointly with World Taekwondo, Joongang Daily, and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

Presided over by Vice Head Jung Gi-Woong of the Agency, the 1st roundtable of diplomacy practitioners was attended by diplomatic representatives of seven Northern nations: Ambassador of Azerbaijan Ramzi Teymurov, Ambassador of Georgia Otar Berdzenishvili, Ambassador of Kazakhstan Bakyt Dyussenbayev, Ambassador of Kyrgyz Republic Aida Ismailova, Ambassador of Tajikistan Yusuf Sharifzoda, Ambassador of Turkey Durmus Ersin Ercin, and Deputy Chief Zokir Saidov of the Embassy of Uzbekistan to Korea (order of countries in alphabetical order). Adding prominence to the session by their participation, the distinguished panelists presented the prospects for improvements in their country’s relations and cooperation with Korea. Celebrating that 2022 marks Korea’s 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Turkey established in 1957 and also Korea’s 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties with the other six nations established in 1992, all of the panelists expressed their hope that their country will be able to advance relations with Korea under the newly inaugurated administration of President Yoon Suk-Yeol.

The following 2nd roundtable was presided over by KOTRA Academy Research Fellow Park Han-Jin, in which experts from KOTRA, KOICA, and Korean businesses discussed current trade issues with the Northern region. A keynote presentation was given by Lee Geum-Ha, Head of KOTRA's Global Supply Chain Office. During the presentation, she analyzed the evolving global supply chain crisis and proposed stronger cooperation with the Norther region as one way to address the crisis.

At the 3rd roundtable of Taekwondo and culture panelists, former Ambassador for Northeast Cooperation Jung Sang-Gi took the chair. Deputy Secretary General Seo Jeong-Kang of World Taekwondo gave a keynote presentation, stressing that Taekwondo is fast emerging not only as a sport, but also as a channel of culture that gives hope to underdeveloped countries and refugees around the world. Another keynote presenter, former Korean Ambassador to Turkmenistan Jung Tae-In, highlighted the cultural connection between and the possibility of the co-development of the Turkish culture and the Korean Peninsula. The last keynote presenter, CEO Lee Hong-Gi of EHL Bio Co., Ltd., pointed out the growing interest in K-culture overall, including the Korean medicine and cosmetic industry, in the Northern region and around the world, calling for more attention and efforts to respond to the global interest in Korea.