■ Emerging Region Research Project Agency of HUFS Institute of Central Asian Studies and HK+ National Strategies Research Project Agency of HUFS Center for International Area Studies hold the “Current Status and Future Prospects of New Northern Economic Cooperation Partners” seminar

The Emerging Region Research Project Agency of HUFS Institute of Central Asian Studies (Head Oh Chong-Jin) held a seminar with the HK+ National Strategies Research Project Agency of HUFS Center for International Area Studies (Head Gang Jun-Young) on September 30, 2021. The seminar was entitled “The Current Status and Future Prospects of New Northern Economic Cooperation Partners – on Kazakhstan’s Foreign Economic Cooperation and Social Development”. The seminar was co-hosted by the two HUFS research project agencies and the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Seoul under the sponsorship of the National Research Foundation of Korea.

The seminar began with opening remarks from Professor Oh chong-Jin, Head of the HUFS Emerging Region Research Project Agency, followed by a presentation by Bakyt Dyussenbayev, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Korea. At the presentation, the ambassador introduced last August’s state visit by the President of Kazakhstan to Korea despite the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the diplomatic accomplishments of his summit with the Korean President. Mr. Dyussenbayev also shared the details of Kazakhstan’s long-term national development plan, which was presented by the Kazakh President after the summit meeting. To ensure the smooth implementation of the Kazakh national development plan from 2022, which marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations, the seminar was held to listen to the opinions of related Korean expert groups. As expected, the event entailed in-depth discussion among the expert groups before closing addresses by Professor Son Young-Hoon, Director of HUFS Institute of Central Asian
Studies, and Professor Gang Jun-Young, Head of the HUFS HK+ National Strategies Research Project Agency.

Drawing an online audience of some 80 students in related majors, the event gave them an opportunity to learn about the current status and future prospects of Kazakhstan’s recent foreign economic cooperation and social development. In addition, the event was even more meaningful in that it shared the latest information on the Central Asian country with those participating in the seminar in person as well as other stakeholders joining via Webex due to COVID-19 constraints. The seminar is available via video playback service on the Youtube channel of HUFS Institute of Central Asian Studies.

The event allowed the online and offline participants to explore various points of cooperation between Korea and Kazakhstan and other economic cooperation partners under the New Northern Policy.

■ HK+ National Strategies Research Project Agency of HUFS Institute of International Area Studies holds a seminar with Sejong Institute

The HK+ National Strategies Research Project Agency of HUFS Institute of International Area Studies (Head Kang Jun-Young) held a seminar with Sejong Institute on September 28, 2021. The strategic forum seminar was entitled “Korea’s Strategic Room Amid U.S.-China Tensions”. Held in the Grand Conference Room of Sejong Institute, the seminar aimed to examine Korea’s strategies on the Northern region amid the escalating U.S.-China tensions and seek new approaches from an academic perspective. It featured two sessions of presentations and discussions by regional researchers.

In the opening ceremony, Jin Chang-Soo, Director of the Center for Japanese Studies at Sejong Institute, delivered the opening remarks. Gang Jun-Young, Head of the HUFS HK+ National Strategies Research Project Agency, also gave a welcoming speech, followed by a keynote speech by Park Jong-Soo, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation. In his keynote speech, Chairman Park stressed the need for Northern policies and cooperation. During the following first session, researchers from Sejong Institute examined Korea’s diplomatic efforts, including the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation and the Northeast Asia Platform for Peace and Cooperation, amid the U.S.-China-Russia competition across the entire Eurasian region. The second session was led by researchers from the HUFS HK+ National Strategies Research Project Agency. Under the theme of “The Present and Future of Northern Policies,” they discussed a range of topics: China-Taiwan relations; Central Asia-Korea
relations, the key pillar of Korea’s Northern policies; the nation’s Northern policies; and its relations with North Korea.

The HUFS HK+ National Strategies Research Project Agency will continue to seek opportunities for academic cooperation with the nation’s leading research institutes in order to realize its agenda of “Supra-National Cooperation and Communication to Create an Environment for the Reunification of the Korean Peninsula”.

■ HUFS Institute of EU Studies holds “Falling Walls Lab Seoul 2021” with EURAXESS Korea and DAAD

“Falling Walls Lab Seoul 2021” held an offline preliminary round on September 25, 2021. The event was hosted by HUFS Institute of EU Studies (Director Kim Bong-Chul) and jointly organized by EURAXESS Korea and Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) in Seoul.

The Falling Walls Foundation, a non-profit organization, is named after the iconic image of the Berlin Wall coming down on November 9, 1989. Starting from a conference in 2009, the 20th anniversary of the falling of the Iron Curtain, the Foundation has been devoted to breaking down barriers between academic disciplines and exploring innovative ideas for leading the next generation.

To this end, the Foundation holds an international forum entitled “Falling Walls Lab” in Berlin each year to look for innovative ideas in each academic discipline. This annual forum offers a platform for innovative ideas from the entire world to foster innovation, cooperation, and an influential and sustainable community among students, researchers, and professional experts.

“Falling Walls Lab Seoul 2021”, hosted by HUFS Institute of EU Studies, is a preliminary round held in Korea for the Falling Walls Lab Finale & Conference scheduled on November 8, 2021, in Berlin. At the Korean preliminary round, participants gave three-minute presentations on free topics in English based on their three-slide PPT material. The preliminary round was open to those within 10 years of obtaining a bachelor’s degree or seven years of obtaining a master’s or doctoral degree as well as undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.

Director Kim Bong-Chul of HUFS Institute of EU Studies, which hosted the event, said, “Remembering that it was the aspiration of the people that broke down the Berlin Wall, we need to break down any barriers in our minds to successfully pursue innovation”.

The winner of “Falling Walls Lab Seoul 2021” will take part in the Falling Walls Finale as a Korean representative. The three final winners of the Falling Walls Finale will be invited to give a presentation at the Falling Walls Lab Conference.

■ HUFS Institute of Russian Studies Selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to lead the 2021 KOR-RUS Think Tank Network Building Project

HUFS Institute of Russian Studies (Director Pyo Sang-Yong) was selected as the final candidate to lead the 2021 KOR-RUS Think Tank Network Building Project. The Institute applied to the Project sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a consortium with Hanyang University’s Asia-Pacific Research Center (Director Um Gu-Ho), the nation’s leading Russian research center, and Korea Eurasian Policy Institute (Director Go Jae-Nam).

With the aim of fostering exchange and consultation between the two nations’ major think tanks, the Project will hold four international symposiums by this December. More specifically, the symposiums will be held online in partnership with each of Russia’s four leading think tanks: the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO), and the Higher School of Economics. The symposiums are expected to provide a venue for Korean and Russian experts in various fields to have in-depth discussions on possible measures to promote Korea-Russia cooperation in the fields of diplomacy, security, economy, and culture.

For the successful and timely completion of the project commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, HUFS Institute of Russian Studies signed an agreement with the other two participating Korean research think tanks to establish a system of close cooperation for joint research.