Students show huge interest in the first-ever 'Latin America Seminar'
Joined by a current diplomat who is an alumnus in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Brazilian Embassy in Korea to give up-to-date information
YU signs exchange agreements with prestigious universities in Central and South America from last year
[October 14, 2016]
<Latin America Seminar on the 14th (All about Latin America - Study, Work, Live @ Latin)>
YU students are showing huge interest in Latin America.
At 10:30 a.m. on the 14th, the Latin America seminar was held on the main auditorium on the third floor of the YU International Exchange Center. YU students filled up the seats to gain information about Latin America. This seminar raised interest of students on Latin America, which is receiving attention as a new land of opportunity. This event was held so that students could gain opportunities to study and work in Latin America.
The seminar was joined by YU alumnus Kim Byung-joon, a current diplomat and manager under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Central and South America Cooperation Department (YU, Business Administration, '88), and officer of education for the Brazilian Embassy in Korea, Carlos Augusto Cardoso Gorito, who is famous for appearing on the JTBC Show <Abnormal Summit> to represent Brazil.
Mr. Carlos Gorito said, "Though Central and South America is geographically far away from Korea, the relationship is becoming closer. There are many Korean companies opening branches and trade is growing every year as well. But there is an absolute lack of local experts who understand the market." He added, "Central and South America has a huge market and the economy is growing, and it is also becoming more and more stable politically, so it is an opportunity with many opportunities. It also has interesting cultures and a lot of fun things to d so it will be a great place to live." He further stated, "Korea has many similar cultures with the rest of Asia, many people have traveled to the US and Europe, but by going to Central and South America, I am confident that you will be able to gain new experiences and views. I really want you to experience Central and South America while you are college students in your 20s."
<Carlos Augusto Cardoso Gorito, Brazilian Embassy in Korea, education officer>
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Central and South America Cooperation Department Manager Kim Byung-joon said, "Central and South America spent turbulent times in terms of its politics and economy including their period of Spanish colonization. But in the past ten years, it has been recording continuous economic growth at approximately 5% per year, and there are many countries that are rich natural resources such as Chile, Peru and Brazil. Furthermore, it is pursuing political and economic integration such as launching the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), which are organizations the includes all of Central and South America." He added, "Our government is focusing on diplomatic relations with Central and South America, which has high possibility as a growth engine for the global economy, and there will be more opportunities for our companies and students to engage in Central and South America."
<Business Administration Class of '88 Ministry of Foreign Affairs Central and South American Cooperation Department Manager Kim Byung-joon participated in the Latin America Seminar>
In particular, Mr. Kim Byung-joon drew attention from students by providing a concrete economic index and explaining the diplomatic environment of Central and South America based on experience and information he possesses as a diplomat, such as the policy directions of our government for Central and South America, and the significance of President Park Geun-hye's visits to Central and South America that started from last year.
YU Department of Business Administration Senior Park Chan-young (25), who attended the seminar said, "I have been interested in Central and South America so I took a Spanish language class at school and also took a two month trip to Central and South America." He added, "After listening to the seminar, I learned that the economy is much bigger than I thought, and also learned that it is actively trading with Korea. I think the information I gained at the seminar will be useful as I choose my career in the future."
As the growth of the trading market with the US, Europe, China and Japan has met its ceiling, Latin America is rising as a new possibility. In particular, as the image of Korea in Latin America is good thanks to the Korean pop culture wave, accessibility is better than ever now.
Starting from last year, YU has been signing MOUs with various prestigious universities in Latin America and has taken the initiative for internationalization so that students could more easily enter Latin America. YU has made global partnerships for human resource exchange such as for students and professors, as well as academic exchange with seven of the top 10 universities in Latin America such as Sao Paulo University in Brazil, the most prestigious university of Latin America, as well as UNICAP, University of Brasilia, Catholic University of Chile, Columbia National University, National Autonomous University of Mexico, and the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education. YU is operating student exchange programs with these universities. Four students were selected and they are scheduled to be sent to Latin America, and Duoc University of Chile and the University of Brasilia are also scheduled to send one student each to YU next year for studies.
Jung Dong-won (23), a junior at the YU Department of Business Administration, who will go to Duoc University in Chile next year for one year as an exchange student, said, "After learning that our university signed exchange MOUs with universities in Central and South America last summer, I became interested in applying as an exchange student to these schools. Most students tend to go to English-speaking nations for exchange student or language courses, but I think that learning the Spanish culture and language is also competitive." He added, "I will work hard on learning Spanish before I leave and will do my best to learn as much as I can while I study overseas."
In the future, YU is planning to increase the number of exchange students through study-abroad seminars for Latin America, and is also conducting reviews to offer regular language courses for Spanish and Portuguese, and continue to offer programs for students to learn more about Latin America.
