IA Reflections

February 3, 2021 3:30 – 5:00pm

Academic Event

This event was held by the IKS/Mershon Center and the guest speaker was Robert Kelly, a professor in political science at Pusan National University in Busan, South Korea. He discussed the Nuclear weapons situation in North Korea and the response that the US should take for the future. One statement he made that I thought was very interesting was that the United States would probably be fine living with a nuclear North Korea in the same way we did with countries like Russia and Pakistan in the past. I feel like in the media people are always saying that we need to denuclearize North Korea, but the truth is the situation has been very stable for a long time. Mr. Kelly mentioned that it is very unlikely for North Korea to completely get rid of all of their nuclear weapons because they have put so much time and effort into their program. The US needs to stop trying to negotiate for total elimination of their nuclear weapons and focus on more serious concessions. A few he mentioned were freezing them were they are now and having possible roll backs in the future; however, the US would have to give something to them in return for them to agree.

The whole talk was very interesting and I enjoyed hearing from someone who lives in South Korea and hears what the South Korean government and media are taking about, too. This event related to International Affairs becasue the nuclear weapons program and North Korea as a nation is a very important topic globally. I really enjoyed this talk and was excited to hear what Robert Kelly had to say on the subject, because I have seen him on other programs before on TV and like what he says.

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.

Sep 24, 4:30pm – 5:30pm

Academic, Professional Development Event

At this event we heard from Corey Efron and Jasmine Stork from the Undergraduate Fellowship Office. Over Zoom, they told us about the fellowships that they give help applying for and went through a PowerPoint presentation and gave us a sheet with different deadlines. I was most interested in CLS, because I am applying for CLS for this coming summer for Korean. However, by going to this event I was able to learn about other opportunities to get fellowships and scholarships, like the Fulbright Scholarship. I will be able to use this information if I plan on looking for more scholarships or fellowships in the future. This was important to International Affairs Scholars because we will all most likely want to apply to some of these at our time in college, especially because so many were based around International Affairs, like language learning. Being able to go to someone to help with the application process is very important, so it is great that they offer help at the Undergraduate Fellowships Office. I am really glad I was able to attend and learn more about what is available for me and have some of my questions and concerns answered.

September 22, 2020 6-7pm on Zoom

Academic Event

This event was held by the Office of International Affairs and the topic was Kpop and Korean Influences on Music. I decided to attend this event because as a Korean Major I wanted to learn more about the influences that Korean culture has had on music. It was very interesting to hear what was said. Especially, the fact that because South Korea’s culture is more centered around family, Korean artists feel that they can connect more with their fans by putting out more videos to show more of their lives. In other more independent based countries, like the U.S. artists keep more to themselves and you only really ever see them off stage in formal interview settings.

I really enjoyed this event and loved hearing what other people thought about kpop and Korean music and influence. This event was related to International Affairs because it taught about Korean culture. We were all able to learn more and share our thought, which is what I believe International Affairs is about. As a Korean major, I knew a lot of what they talked about, but I was also able to give my input from a different perspective than others because of that. It made the event very fun!

September 15, 2020 6-7pm on Zoom

Professional Development Event

This event was lead by Ryan Wilhelm from Career Counseling and Support Services. He gave us tips to better network while in college. Networking is important because it can make getting jobs in the future easier. Something that I really took from this event was the use of LinkedIn. Before this event I did not use LinkedIn that much, but after, I have started using it more and adding more to my profile. I did not realize you could join groups and see what fields other people have gone into. I will be able to use this tool when I am looking for a job with the majors that I have.

This event is important to International Affairs because to be successful in the workplace we need to have strong connections. The use of networking allows us to learn more about fields we may not have heard of previously. It also connects us to people in fields we are already interested in and shows our dedication and commitment to people in those fields. By using networking in college we can connect ourselves to people and even obtain internships that will benefit us in the future. I am glad I was able to attend this event and learn more about the importance of networking especially while in college.

September 8, 2020 11:30am on Zoom

Professional Development Event

This event was lead by Lou, who is an active Foreign Service Officer at the State Department. He was able to tell us about what it’s like to be a Foreign Service Officer and some of his own personal experiences in the job.  I was interested in this event because going into the State Department is something I am considering after graduation. It was very interesting to hear his experiences. It made me think more about whether or not this field is something I want to go into. I was also able to ask specific questions that I had, which is a lot harder to do if you just research online.

This event relates to International Affairs because as a Foreign Service Officer you are deeply involved in International Affairs. By attending this event I feel like I now have a better understanding of what it’s like to work in the State Department. This will help me in the future because I will be able to remember this discussion and it will help me decide if I really want to apply for a job there. I also now know someone that I can contact to get more information. I am very glad I was able to attend this event.

April 23, 2020 7-8 pm

This event took place over a Zoom meeting because we are all social distancing. I loved to be able to help the incoming and prospective IA Scholars, especially during this difficult time. I can only imagine how much more difficult the social distancing has made it for them to decide and feel comfortable making chooses about the college futures. I hoped that I could have helped them to lessen there concerns.

I was so excited to meet incoming IA Scholars, as well. I plan on being a mentor next year, so maybe I met my mentee in this meeting. That would be really cool! I was also really excited when one of the new members said they were planning to minor in Korean. I love the Korean program here at Ohio State and hope that I gave her the information she was looking for.

It was also great to see some of my friends that took part in the Q&A along with me. Because we had to move out right after spring break, I did not really have the chance to say goodbye to everyone I wanted to. It has also been crazy trying to transition and get used to online classes, so I haven’t had the chance to talk to many people either. Because I did this meeting I was able to see a lot of familiar faces and it made me really happy!

April 3, 2020 8-10 pm

This event took place over a Zoom meeting. Because we are all social distancing we had to watch the movie in separate places, but still wanted to have the experience of watching together. So, we started the evening by talking a little before watching the movie. We introduced ourselves and then started the movie once everyone was settled. At first we tried screen sharing, but the quality was nit very good so we each decided to pull up the movie on our own devices, but kept the chat open.

The movie we watched was a Thai film directed by Kristen Tan, called Pop Aye. It tells the story of a man going through a mid-life crisis and reminiscing on his childhood after being “reunited” with an elephant he grew up with. We meet a lot of different characters along his journey and the story is very interesting. I have never seen a Thai movie before, and I thought it was pretty good.

I liked that we were still able to get together to watch a movie, especially during this time. When we were on campus I loved going to this event and so having just a little bit of normalcy was comforting. I enjoyed talking to everyone once the movie was over, also. It was great hearing everyone else’s opinion right after we finished.