■ HUFS Institute of Latin American Studies HK+ National Strategies Research Project Agency Offers Sign Language Interpretation on YouTube Channel ‘Pachamama TV’

HK+ National Strategies Research Project Agency of HUFS Institute of Latin American Studies (Head Jun Yong-Gap) offers sign language interpretation for the content created and distributed by its YouTube channel ‘Pachamama TV’. The channel is run by the Local Humanities Center Pachamama.

The interpretation service is available for two Pachamama programs: an intensive lecture program entitled “An In-Depth Look into Latin America from the Lens of Humanities” and an entry program “A Vivid On-Site Look into Latin America”. Currently, these two programs offer their 13 video clips with Korean language subtitles and sign language interpretation services. They will continue to provide the interpretation service for their future video clips.

All video clips of Pachamama TV feature Korean language subtitles as well as English, Spanish, Portuguese or sign language interpretation service depending on the nature of their content and the key characteristics of their main audience. Among them, Korean language subtitles and sign language interpretation are part of Pachamama TV’s efforts to reach those with hearing loss and having difficulty accessing face-to-face and non-face-to-face lectures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The HUFS HK+ project agency will promote the audience-friendly services to related municipal officers and partner organizations, making its Pachamama TV content readily available to citizens in need of sign language interpretation.

■ HUFS Polar Research Center and Institute of Russian Studies Jointly Host the 2nd Young Russia and Arctic Scholar Cultivation Workshop

HUFS Polar Research Center (Director Choi Woo-Sik) and HUFS Institute of Russian Studies (Director Pyo Sang-Yong) hosted the 2nd Young Russia and Arctic Scholar Cultivation Workshop in Busan for two days from May 9-10, 2021. In the face of climate change, changes in the Arctic and ever-intensifying globalization, the two-day workshop aimed to share academic and practical knowledge to encourage young Russia and Arctic scholars to continue their research and increase the value of their research work. Due to the COVID-19 situation, the workshop was held partially via video conference and in strict compliance with the government’s disinfection guidelines.

The first day of the workshop began with an opening speech by Director Choi of HUFS Polar Research Center in a conference room near Busan Station. The opening remarks were followed by lectures by Arctic experts and an interim research presentation by the participating students. In addition, Ph.D. Jung Seong-Yeop of Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering gave a presentation entitled “The Application of the 4th Industrial Revolution Technology to Russia and the Arctic and Its Prospects”. Senior Researcher Jung Hyuk of HUFS Polar Research Center discussed the topic of “The Current Status of Black Carbon Emissions in the Arctic and Their Effect”. Director Choi led a discussion on “Social Issues of Russia and the Arctic”. The first day of the event was concluded with interim research presentations by HUFS students. Gang Ha-Ram, Kim Hyun-Jin, Kim Hye-Young, Doh Min-Ji and Janar Cairola of HUFS Graduate School of International and Area Studies and HUFS Department of Russian and CIS Studies presented their research directions and progress on various topics. These included food security for the indigenous people of the Russian North, the logging industry in Russia’s Far East, port infrastructure in the Russian North, the current status of the indigenous people of the Russian North and environmental protection infrastructure in the Russian North. The students received feedback on further details of their research.

On the second day of the workshop, the participants visited Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) in compliance with the social distancing and disinfection regulations. They heard a lecture by KMI Director Lee Sung-Woo (Adjunct Professor of Department of Russian and CIS Studies at HUFS Graduate School of International and Area Studies) on the topic of the current status and prospects of logistics in the Russian North and a presentation by KMI Arctic Research Team Leader Kim Min-Soo on Russia’s Arctic strategies and South Korea-Russia cooperation. Researcher Kim Um-Ji of KMI Arctic Research Team wrapped up the day’s activities by introducing her research team’s main tasks and ongoing research projects.

The two-day program gave the participants an opportunity to determine their Arctic research topic and build knowledge from the lectures on different subject matters and share it for their Arctic research.

■ HUFS JMCE Hosts an International Symposium with ECCK

HUFS Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (JMCE, Director Kim Si-Hong) held a hybrid online-offline international symposium jointly with the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK) under the title of “The 10th Anniversary of the Korea-EU FTA: Retrospective and Prospective Views” at a conference room on the 11th floor of the Main Building on June 24, 2021 (Thu.).

The event began with an opening session, which consisted of a welcoming speech by HUFS JMCE Director Kim, congratulatory remarks by EU Ambassador to Korea Maria Castillo Fernandez and ECCK Chairman Dirk Lukat and a keynote speech by former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahn Chong-Gi (former Korean Ambassador to EU).

During the plenary session, Professor Kang Yu-Deok of HUFS LT Division and Professor Kim Bong-Chul of HUFS Division of International Studies led a discussion on the economic and legal status of the South Korea-European Free Trade Agreement. The participating European scholars highlighted the need for revisions to the trade deal, expressing the possibility that voices for working out revision details could be raised by both sides.

The trade agreement took effect on July 1, 2011, driving up the bilateral trade volume by 46%. This FTA has established itself as a landmark agreement in the economic history of the 21st century, becoming an exemplary model for subsequent trade agreements.