William H. Stewart and Bo Myung Kim of HUFS Office of International Affairs have recently had their scholarly work published in a SCOPUS-indexed journal. For the research, they conducted in-depth interviews with international students studying at HUFS, highlighting and analyzing various aspects of these students. This included their motivation to come to study in Korea despite the COVID-19 situation, their self-quarantine experience after arrival, and the difficulties that they underwent during that process.

This research is the first of its kind in the study of the self-isolation requirement adopted by the Korean government in April 2020 for all incoming foreign visitors. It holds significance in assessing the impact of the new requirement on the life cycle of international students with an academic lens from the perspective of international affairs staff at a university.

Working for HUFS Office of International Affairs, co-author William H. Stewart has published a total of 11 papers in international journals in the last two years. Four of the 11 papers were published in SCOPUS-indexed journals, and two of them were also published in SSCI journals. With most of his publications focusing on his work experience at the Office of International Affairs, his academic achievements are especially noteworthy as the outcomes of a practitioner-scholar in the field of international education.

He said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has made a huge impact on the norms and framework of the conventional international exchange efforts. I personally believe that it is important to continue this research to better prepare for the world after COVID-19. Living in times where a university’s specialty in international exchange directly affects its institutional competence, I am committed to promoting the further advancement and globalization of our institution.”

Co-author Bo Myung Kim, Manager of the Office of International Affairs, said, “COVID-19 has opened a new sphere of international exchange: virtual international exchange. I hope that HUFS will create new opportunities to lead not only international exchange research, but also international education research by creating and maximizing the benefits of new virtual channels of international cooperation.”