Month: November 2020

September 29, 2020 4:30-5:30pm

Academic Event

This event was given by Jenny Kraft who is an Education Abroad Specialist in the Office of International Affairs. She discussed the different options available for Third Party Study Abroad experiences. I chose to watch this event becasue I plan to study abroad at some point during my time at Ohio State and I was looking at Third Party options and wanted to learn more. I learned how to use the education abroad website to search for specific experiences I would like to go on and some of the next steps I should take when I get closer to when I want to travel.

This event is important for International Affairs, because most of us are likely to want to study abroad and so it is important to know what we need to do in order to get there. It was great to hear from an Education Abroad Specialist and learn more about the third party programs that are approved by Ohio State. I really learned a lot and now feel more comfortable making a decision and feel like I can more comfortably look at the options available for me when I want to study abroad.

November 9, 2020 7-8pm

This event had participants from four less commonly learned languages in the US, which were Korean, Chinese, Arabic, and Russian. I chose to watch the recording of this event becasue I am a Korean major and wanted to hear what Kerstin had to say. It was great to hear about all of the participants experiences and I feel like I learned a lot while watching this event.

This event relates to International Affairs becasue learning a language helps to connect people all over the world. At this event, as well, the participants were all students learning languages that are not as commonly learned in the US and so it was great to hear about their experiences. I hope that it might inspire some of the other people listening to try a lesser learned language if they are thinking abut it and have the time.

By watching this event I feel like I am even more excited to continue leaning Korean here at Ohio State. I was able to see how far Kerstin has come and it just makes me so excited to see where I will be when I am a fourth year. I know that it will not be easy, but I am ready and excited to continue learning.

November 19, 2020 7-8pm

Academic Event

This event was held by the organization on campus, Pen Pals in North Korea. At this event the co-founder of Crossing Borders, Dan Chung, spoke about the current situation involving North Korean refugees and the work that Crossing Borders does. I was interested in this event because I feel like we do not hear much about North Koreans once they leave North Korea. I learned so much from this event. Mr. Chung told us how around 70% of refugees from North Korea are women and that 80% of those women are sold. They are even “prepped” for sale once they enter China. Their clothes are taken and replaced with better clothes and then they are put into what are basically prisons where they get looked at and chosen by buyers. He also told us that even in South Korea they are not treated very well. 49% of North Koreans in South Korea are depressed and 45.4% have said they have experienced discrimination. This event really opened my eyes to the struggles that North Koreans still face even once they leave North Korea.

This event relates to International Affairs because this is an international issue that I feel more people need to learn about. We also learned of the work that Crossing Borders does. They help refugees in China by setting up safe homes they can go to when they are in an emergency or feel they are in danger. They also provide medical care, future stability and spiritual counseling, becasue they are a Christian organization. In China, they have also set up orphan care. Many children are born in China and then get separated from their families; sometimes they are left behind. Because of this problem, Crossing Borders offers housing, scholarships, medical care, and summer camps. They also recently opened Elm House in South Korea, which houses North Korean refugee women of abusive relationships or other similar situations. I really enjoyed this event and learning more about North Korean refugees and I am glad I was able to attend.