I attended the Virtual International Film Series viewing of the 2012 Korean movie Nameless Gangster on Friday, April 17, 2020 which was hosted by Global Engagement and Office of International Affairs. I live in Salt Lake City, Utah and was unable to attend the Zoom viewing, but I utilized their link to watch on my own time. I was a bit more inclined to attend this event because I am Korean and thought it would be nice time to enjoy the two-hour film with my father because he likes to watch Korean films like Nameless Gangster. I grew up watching films similar to Nameless Gangster so it was very nostalgic for me to have this opportunity.

Nameless Gangster is a movie about laid off customs officer Choi Ik-Hyun who partners up with his distant relative, Choi Hyung-Bae, who is a boss of a big crime organization in Busan, South Korea. Ik-Hyun lobbies for Hyung-bae and slowly starts to rise in power with the intentions of taking over Busan. The relationship between the two men grow poor and it becomes life or death for Ik-Hyun. I felt the film had a typical plot line for Korean movies where a poor man rises to power with the help of an individual, becomes greedy, things turn sour, gets involved with law enforcement, and tries to turn his life around by betraying the other. However, what I believe makes this film one of the most recognized in Korean film, is the realistic portrayal of the 80s and 90s gang related activity. During the time period of the 80s and 90s, Korea had an uprising problem with crime organization. There was plenty of political, big-corporate corruption involved where the rich got wealthier and the poor became nonexistent. I believe critically acclaimed actor Choi Min-suk perfectly portrayed his character Ik-Hyun. The realities of the situation in the beginning was Ik-Hyun had to find a way to provide for his family and he did not mind if it meant he had to be involved in a gang. Slowly, the plot reveals human nature by how power hungry and greedy Ik-Hyun becomes as he starts to get a taste of recognition and respect from people around him. Nameless Gangster perfectly showcases what money can do to the most desperate souls.

I believe watching films like Nameless Gangster are important in International Affairs because you can learn so much about a culture through their movies. By having exposure to different films from different countries, it provides better understanding, appreciation, and perspective for their culture. When director Bong Joon-Ho was awarded the Oscars for his film Parasite, he received a lot of backlash from ignorant individuals. I remember reading an article pointing out someone asking why we were even recognizing a non-American film and looking down on the intricacy of Parasite. I feel a lot of Americans do not watch films from other countries and tend to ignore the hype about films made by non-Americans. I grew up watching both Hollywood and Korean films and have a lot of appreciation being able to dabble between the two because it provided me some perspective on the culture difference between the US and Korea. I had better understanding where my parents were coming from when we would clash on certain issues, and I honestly thank all the Korean films and tv shows I watched growing up for allowing to have that open-mind.

I attended Ohio State’s 50^th Earth Day Celebration on Wednesday, April 15^th on Zoom through requested invitation at 2:00 p.m. An interesting fact about Ohio State is that we have been in existence and participated for all 50 Earth Days! Josh Knight and Nicole Jackson hosted the event where more than 300 people attended, and it was amazing to see how Ohio State still remained well-connected despite the current COVID-19 situation.

During the hour-long event, different speakers were introduced. The two main speakers were Dr. Bart Eltmore from the Department of History and Dr. Elena Irwin from the College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences in Economics & Sustainability. Dr. Eltmore focused on the history of how Earth Day became to be and emphasizes that we must recognize natural adversaries and events can affect our daily lives. An important point he makes is that during this tumultuous time, it is a great opportunity for us to think about how we are indebted to our ecosystems. Dr. Irwin focused on what life will be like in the year 2070. She gave us versions of two different worlds. World #1, called Business as Usual, emphasized all communities in the world will be severely challenged; however, the rich will be better off. People will be unable to breathe air without a mask, natural disasters will be far worse and common, parts of the world will be wiped out due to rising sea levels, and poverty and hunger will increase by 100+ million. World #2, called Global Techno-Economy, fails to reach the 2030 emission reduction recommendations, but thankfully meets the 2050 recommendation. Economic growth through different technological advances are being pursued to further reduce carbon emissions. However, the coral reefs are dead and artic summers have no ice. World #3, called Ecological Balance, makes the 2030 emission reduction recommendation thanks to deep cuts made from companies. By 2050 the world will be fully de-carbonized and corporations make severe cuts. People realized in World #3 through the 2020 coronavirus event, how fragile society is, and deep changes were made to seize the moment. Although we were able to make the 2030 deadline where there is cleaner water and breathable air, economies in some nations are stagnant or decline.

Ever since I first learned about climate change, I have always been trying to advocate for the change we need in current day systems and how important it is to all be on the same page in order to save our home, Earth. Without the cooperation from all people around the world, whatever country, religion, sexuality, etc., we cannot achieve the 2030 goal. One of the biggest hurdles we have to overcome is for people to actually recognize the seriousness over climate change. If society in whole, is unable to even admit there even is an issue, how are we supposed to expect change? Ultimately, it will be my generation that will get the repercussions because of the lack of responsibility of older generations. I cannot say confidently that I am unafraid. I am actually completely terrified for what the future holds for our future government and our planet.

I attended the campus event Korean Culture Show at Performance Hall in the Ohio Union on Friday, February 14, 2020 from 6-9 pm. Ohio State’s organizations Korean Student Association (KSA) and Korean International Student Organization (KISO) planned the wonderful event. The event started with the National Anthem of South Korea and ended with a bang with a dance performed by the E-board members of KSA and KISO. Some of my favorite performances were the Samul Nori (a traditional drum performance), Hannah Lee’s performance of one of Korean singer Ailee’s famous songs, and the Queen of Aces (a dance girl group that performed a bunch of K-Pop songs). One of the things that surprised me the most as a Korean American, was the massive diversity I saw in the audience and also the performers. I was very proud to see how much love Korean culture received from all different groups of people. Everyone was beaming with smiles and the atmosphere of the event was incredibly light-hearted and in a way innocent. The excitement from everyone at the event contributed so much great energy that made the show so great. The show gave me an enormous amount of pride for my Korean background and I’m so glad to see the positive impact it has on other people. It was a great treat on Valentine’s Day and am very grateful that I went.

Lately due to the stresses of exams and having a busy schedule, I have had less time to connect with my cultural background. One of favorite things to do that helps me keep my culture close to heart, is my love for watching Korean shows (aka. Korean dramas). Growing up I was an avid watcher of Korean dramas and accumulated most of my Korean vocabulary through watching so many. The Korean Culture Show integrated their own personal make of a Korean drama throughout the show, and it was very fun to watch. Another way I connect with my Korean background is the music, specifically K-Pop. Recently in the past couple of years, K-Pop has been extremely popular globally. My all-time favorite in high school was a boy group called BTS and now they are one of the most known/popular boy K-Pop groups world-wide. One of the acts for the Korean Culture Show was a boy K-Pop cover group called Top Pride of Korea (Tpok). It was really cool seeing how they were able to dance some of the K-Pop songs’ choreography because they can be extremely difficult to execute. I was also very impressed by the girl group, Queen of Aces, for their performance on a variety of different K-Pop girl group choreographies. I cannot imagine the amount of time and energy they have to put in to create the outcome they presented at the show.

Attending the event made me emotional at some points. In particular, the Samul Nori act gave me an overwhelming amount of pride and happiness. Seeing the Korean drum team perform traditional Korean music made me feel at home. It reminded me of the times I used to watch Korean drum performances with my dad growing up and the Korean drum team in my hometown that performed every Korean New Year. I am extremely thankful that Ohio State creates spaces and opportunities for different cultures. It means a lot to students like me who are far from their family and gets limited exposure to their Korean culture during their daily life.

I attended the service event at the Innis Elementary School for the Scientific Thinkers Science Day on Thursday, December 5^th from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The service event was a great way to start off my Reading Day and escape from the stress of finals. I signed up for the Snowflake Borax Crystals lesson where we taught kids how to make crystals from a borax-water mixture and a pipe cleaner. It was a very fun, but hectic time. I forgot how much energy and patience it took to handle elementary school aged children. For some brief background information on Innis Elementary School, there are a total of 404 students based on the 2017-2018 year. 73.6% are underrepresented minorities in the sciences, 95% are economically disadvantaged, and 9.9% are students with disabilities. The first thing I noticed about the elementary school was the lack of funding. The ‘classrooms’ were not divided by walls, but instead they utilized boards to separate the classes from each other. I couldn’t help but compare my elementary school to Innis. I could see a very clear distinction between a well-funded elementary school versus one that did not get much. However, it was very humbling to see that despite the lack of funding for Innis Elementary School, the teachers, staff, and students all had bright smiles on their faces and grateful for what they had in their school.

Based on my personal observations on the student population, the majority of students were minorities from many different cultural backgrounds. Unlike many elementary schools where the white is the majority, in Innis Elementary School, the white students were the minority. I remember there was this one little boy who did not speak much and was very shy. He was moving slower compared to the rest of the students during the lesson. The girl sitting next to him raised her hand and asked if I could help him. She then tapped on my shoulder and whispered in my ear that the boy was a new student and did not know how to speak English. She said that she can translate my words into Spanish so the little boy could understand. I thought it was such an eye-opening experience to see that different languages were being utilized amongst the students and no one judged or taunted each other. When I was in elementary school, my school was very white. The teachers and students were majority white and my brother, and I were probably one of the only few Asians. I used to get bullied for being different and students would bother my little brother for calling me “Noona”, even though it is the respectful way for a younger brother to address his older sister in Korean culture. It was heart-warming to see a school of minorities who embraced and respected one another’s differences and backgrounds. I could feel that there was no judgement. Spending time with the elementary school kids reminded me of how much I loved interacting with kids in the past, and I hope to volunteer again next year or even join the organization Scientific Thinkers.

I attended the academic event presentation on American Factory with Lindsay Woodruff in the Smith-Steeb basement at 8:00 pm on Sunday, October 20^th. Despite the event being very last minute, I have never gone to an event that has made me question what my true values are as an Asian-American. I felt an enormous inner tug-of-war throughout the documentary that left me leaving the documentary really excited to write this reflection. For some brief overview on the documentary, a Chinese company named Fuyao reopens a GM plant that was shut down in Dayton, Ohio. 10,000 people lost their jobs and not only that, their homes, belongings, and for some even their socioeconomic status. However, the glass company Fuyao invested 500 million into Fuyao Glass America creating about 2,000 jobs. Many Americans were grateful for having even the opportunity to have a job, despite the low pay and not having a union. The chairman of Fuyao implemented an American operator, Chinese supervisor system to help integrate the two cultures and teach the Americans how the company functions back in the motherland. The primary focus of the documentary, however, is whether or not Fuyao Glass America workers are granted a union. This causes a lot of tension between not only the chairman and the supervisors overlooking the Ohio plant, but interestingly conflict arises between the American workers.

As a Korean American, a lot of different things resonated with me from the Chinese and American side. I could see myself understanding both ends and I found myself constantly wondering what my values truly are surrounding work. I found the chairman’s question, “The point of living is to work. Don’t you think so?” very explanatory of the Chinese work mindset. Even though I am Korean, China and the Koreas have very similar upbringings and historically stem from the same group of people in the past. Our cultures coincide quite a lot and a good example of that are my parents. Growing up, I noticed my parents’ values and priorities greatly differed from my friends’ families and even mine. To make things very black and white, work was mostly stability for my parents, whereas for my friends’ families, it was a place of creativity and passion. Vacations traveling around the world are greatly valued to Americans, whereas to my parents, “it’s a waste of time and money.” This observation might not apply to everyone, but based on my own observations growing up, it is the best simple way to put it. The Chinese portrayed in this documentary view work as a blessing, a place that gives them purpose, therefore, they work hard and do not have complaints about it. Their labor feeds their children and keep them safe. As an American as well, I understand the feeling of wanting more than just providing for the family. Americans thrive off of independence, whereas, the Chinese and even my observations on my Korean community, we thrive off of co-dependence on one another. Like Fuyao says, “We are family.” It was very interesting to see two cultures I am apart of interact and view things in the workforce. After watching the documentary, I have read up on reviews and even found some of the opinion articles I found interesting as they all had different perspectives.

I attended the academic event presentation on Genocide in Rwanda with the International Affairs Scholars alum Jacob Caponi (’19) in the Smith-Steeb glass classroom from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Thursday, September 12^th. I found the 1994 genocide in Rwanda against the Tutsi really interesting because I never have been exposed to it prior to the presentation. I’ve only learned about the Holocaust in school and that was it. I couldn’t help but feel a bit ashamed of not knowing that such an event occurred where masses of innocent people were slaughtered. This topic directly relates to the topic of International Affairs because due to such a terrible genocide against the Tutsis, organizations have been made to prevent them from happening again. There are specific analysts were observed certain countries for genocide warning signs and are sought out by country leaders to find a solution for conflict amongst certain groups. Over 20 years have passed since the genocide and the current issue is that prisoners of the genocide are now being released back into society. Many eyes are on this issue and Jacob’s research is based on observing the effects of genocide perpetrators re-entry into the community.

I gained a lot academically from this event by learning the history of the Rwanda genocide. Jacob mentioned that due to the time crunch, his explanation of the genocide might come off very light when in reality it is a heavy matter. Despite the one-hour presentation on the genocide, Jacob was able to address the why, how, who, and what of the genocide very well. The genocide occurred from April 6^th to July 16^th in 1994 where the targeted group was the minority Tutsi community in Rwanda. An estimate of 1 million people died in a span of 100 days and 250,000 women were raped by an extremist Hutu militia. The colossal event that ignited the genocide was President Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane crash that caused immense chaos amongst the people of Rwanda. The President was a Hutu and Hutu extremists blamed the Tutsi rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RBF), for the death of their President. Hutu extremists set up all kinds of propaganda urging people to “weed out” the Tutsi in the community. Neighbors and friends were killing each other relentlessly and it was a time of complete fear. The genocide came to an end thanks to the well-organized RBF group. Millions of Hutus fled the country in fear of revenge attacks by the Tutsis. Leaders of the genocide and rapists were the most convicted and were placed in TIG camps where they served out their sentences doing community service. Prisons were heavily overcrowded and were in inhumane conditions. What makes the Rwanda genocide aftermath so interesting is that despite the atrocities that were made, there is a huge emphasis on reconciliation between the perpetrators and victims of the genocide in the Rwanda community. Some communities that were victims of the genocide have created welcome parties for the perpetrators which is very strange to do for people who murdered your loved ones. However, Jacob elaborated that this is an effort to prevent another genocide to occur again.

The event that I attended was the AIDS Memorial Quilt Volunteering service event on Friday, April 12^th from 6-7 pm at the Ohio Union. The event went from 12 pm – 8 pm and was hosted by the Students for Diversity in Education Through Service (SDES). I volunteered for an hour as a Quilt Security Monitor. I originally was supposed to be a Floater which is the position where you are flexible to do whatever is needed within the hour we signed up. Alex Ryan, the display coordinator, needed a Quilt Security Monitor so I was placed on the third floor where I monitored the AIDS Quilt. A Quilt Security Monitor was responsible for staying in the room for the entire time of the shift to monitor the AIDS Quilt and the people inside. We had to stop people from coming into the room with food, drinks, or gum to prevent any damage to the AIDS Quilt.

The AIDS Quilt is meant to honor those who passed after living with AIDS. The Quilt became a memorial to help loved ones affected from AIDS victims. It allows for those affected by AIDS to grieve and help others understand the devastating impact of the disease it has on people. SDES is an organization at OSU dedicated to providing service to organizations around Columbus that support the LGBTQ+ community. It was amazing for them to be able to get a hold of the AIDS Quilt because it has not been to OSU since 1994. Also, April 12^th is the Day of Silence. People who entered the room with the AIDS Quilt were encouraged to respect the Day of Silence by remaining silent. The Day of Silence is a nationwide student-led protest to bring attention to the voices that are silenced by bullying and name-calling towards LGTBQ+ students. The AIDS Memorial Quilt Conference encourages attendees to speak with one another about why we break the silence in our lives.

I felt incredibly honored to monitor the AIDS Quilt. Although I sat in complete silence, I could feel the power of the AIDS Quilt by just its presence. It was very heartfelt when I watched people walk in and walk out in tears. I talked to a student who had a family member that passed due to AIDS, and it was heartbreaking to see her walk away from the Quilt with tear filled eyes. I never volunteered for an event dedicated to raising AIDS awareness, and it made me realize how a single disease can cause such a huge impact on so many people. Disease is not discriminatory of race, religion, or orientation; it brutally attacks anyone. As a pre-med student, volunteering for the AIDS Memorial Quilt Conference was a great experience. It encouraged and reminded me of why I want to pursue medicine. People all over the world are affected by so many diseases, such as like AIDs, which is invisible to the eye, but incredibly destructive.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt Conference relates to International Affairs because people all over the world are affected by the disease. It is important to raise awareness and help those affected by the AIDS disease. I encourage future IA scholars to attend this event next year or any event that relates to the purpose of this event. It is incredibly eye-opening and is important to support all.

I attended Arab Night which is a Non-IA event on Sunday, March 3^rd that was being held at the Ohio Union in Performance Hall from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm. It was a public event open to everyone and was one of the most fun, interesting events I have attended. Arab Night was hosted by an organization called Arab Student Union (ASU) that is established by OSU. I love learning about different cultures and it was amazing to get a taste of the beautiful music, dance, and fashion. I never have been familiar with Arab culture growing up and really appreciated this event because I felt it was such a great experience. When I first saw it in the International Affairs Scholars Weekly Update email, my immediate initial reaction was, “I have to go, it would be so much fun.”

There was a lot of great music and it was heart-warming to see how happy the people involved in the program were with sharing their culture with other individuals. Big smiles were all around and the audience thoroughly enjoyed the program. Sitting down being part of the audience, made me realize how great OSU is in supporting and providing a platform in sharing different cultures. I believe one of the charms of learning about another culture is we realize how different and unique everyone is because we all come from different backgrounds. It gives us identity and individuality. Being able to appreciate and respect other cultures is fundamental.

This event is closely associated with International Affairs (IA) because one of the key aspects in IA is to first have an appreciation of different cultures while also having the urge to learn about them. Arab Night was a great opportunity for any IA Scholars student to expand their experience with the Arab culture and exposing themselves to different music and fashion. I really hope other IA Scholars took advantage of this event because it was not a typical event and I had an enriching experience. By the organization of the program, you can tell the people involved worked very hard and dedicated a lot of time and energy in creating such a great event for OSU.

I personally gained more appreciation for the Arab culture, and found the music and fashion very interesting and charming in its own way. There was a fashion show in the program that wonderfully displayed different pieces of Arab clothing, and I found it fascinating. Arab Night has helped me erase some of the negative stigma that I was exposed to growing up. A lot of the times Arab countries are seen in a distasteful light through media and being exposed to that at a young age, somewhat shaped my view on what Arab culture was. It is not something I am proud of admitting because it is stemmed from pure ignorance, however, I believe it is vital that I understand how powerful media can be in influencing young minds views on certain groups of people. Through Arab night, I saw more sides of Arab culture and do not see it in such a narrow-minded light anymore. I’ve grown an appreciation and cannot wait for possibly attending next year again!

The event that I attended was the academic event called Current Events Convo – What You Missed in the News on Thursday, January 17^th at 7:30 pm. Different International Affair issues were brought up, giving some brief update on the situations. Some topics that caught my attention was the UN Human Trafficking Report, US Troop withdrawal in Syria, and the border issue in Ireland. At the end of the presentation, we also talked a bit on the government shutdown.

I thought it was interesting that the US Troop withdrawal in Syria was a topic in the Current Events Convo because it was also brought up in my International Studies Modern Middle East class. Every class, my professor likes to talk about current events that are going on in the Middle East and the troop withdrawal from Syria was a topic we discussed. It was just a brief discussion, however, I thought it was interesting I heard about the issue in my class.

What impacted me the most was the UN Human Trafficking Report. It was shocking to hear that a form of exploitation in human trafficking is organ removal. I was only familiar with sexual exploitation and forced labor, but knowing that actual people are being taken from their families for their organs, terrifies me. It is also maddening that we do not hear about human trafficking as much as we should. The issue has always been around and is increasingly becoming a problem, but it is never really brought up in media. Hearing the statistic that traffickers mainly target women and young girls by almost 75%, did not surprise me at all.

The border issue in Ireland was interesting because the British Prime Minister Theresa May was rejected from her Brexit deal by Parliament, but survived a no-confidence vote. Leaving the EU calls for border controls between Ireland and Northern Ireland. With a hard border, violence could break out, however, people need some sort of border for custom checks on goods. The issue has been in high debate lately and tensions are high. I went to a CCWA meeting and the Brexit issue was brought up. Two students were in heated debate over whether or not a hard border would be made. It is interesting to hear both sides, however, I personally believe a hard border will not be made. Neither sides want violence to break out, and a hard border would ignite the violence.

The last thing we discussed in the Current Events Convo was the government shutdown. Everyone in the room agreed that the government shutdown needed to end as it was into its second week. Personally, I felt that what President Trump wanted out of the government shutdown was completely unnecessary and degrading. It is an attack on immigrants, and is filled with ignorance.

This was my second time coming to a Current Event Convo and it made me realize how important it is to keep up with what is going around the world. The event was very informative and I enjoyed how the presentation felt like a recap session on certain issues.

I attended the service event Zoo Lights at the Columbus Zoo from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Friday, November 16^th. We met on College Road outside of Smith-Steeb across from Moritz College of Law at 4:00 pm. There were two busses set up for transport and Steven Blalock was outside of the bus, signing everyone in. Students attending had to sign up prior to the event and bring 5 canned goods for free admission to the Zoo. The canned goods were going to be donated to a shelter. Personally, I found that this event could also have counted as a social event because other than donating 5 canned goods, the whole time spent at the Zoo Lights were with friends and peers. It was a spectacular event and it was my first time ever seeing a Zoo filled with lights. Apparently, a lot of other Zoos decorate themselves in lights, but it was my first time ever hearing Zoos did events like these. The event had a dazzling impact due to the colorful light decorations all around the Zoo. It was really amazing how the lights were set up accordingly to the music that was being played. Certain sections of the Zoo would light up while another section turned dark. I could not imagine how much time, effort, and people that were needed in order to decorate the whole zoo in beautiful lights. I do have to say that some of the song selections were kind of bad, but overall the music was good. After the trip, I wondered how much the Columbus Zoo’s electricity bill was because there were so many lights everywhere. Some of my friends and I guessed at least $5,000.

I believe this event connects to International Affairs in the sense that service is a huge part of International Affairs. Service is an important aspect that everyone should be involved in. International Affairs scholar students dedicate a lot of their time giving back to the community and helping people from different cultural backgrounds. For example, I know a couple of students involved in clubs that work to help refugees in ways such as tutoring.

I did not really gain any academic or professional insight, however, personally I was able to connect to some other students on the trip. I felt I became closer to my roommate and one of her friends that attended the event. Also, the one PSL scholar’s student that was there, her name is Mattie, is a high school friend of mine and it was great to catch up on life with her. We both had a great time and would love to come back again next year. It was also nice to be around other International Affair’s scholar students because I do not see them as much as I would like. I live on the third floor while the majority lives on the eighth floor of Smith-Steeb so it is hard to interact with them.

Overall, the event was so much fun and I hope it is available again next year!