JAE-SUNG LEE, COOP ‘99 AND HIS WIFE WAS INTRODUCED IN AN ARTICLE ON CHOSUN ILBO ABOUT WORKING AT THE UN.

‘세계의 정부’ 유엔에 한국인 부부가 함께 근무하게 돼 화제가 되고 있다. 유엔 법률국 소속으로 현재 오스트리아 빈에서 근무하고 있는 이재성씨(37)와 지난해 말 유엔 공채에 최종 합격돼 이달 초 뉴욕 유엔본부의 평화유지활동 총괄 지원부서(DFS)에 발령받은 김미선씨(33) 부부. /연합뉴스 유엔 법률국 소속으로 현재 오스트리아 빈에서 근무하는 이재성(37)씨와 지난해 말 유엔 공채에 최종 합격해 이달 초 뉴욕 유엔본부의 평화유지활동 총괄 지원부서(DFS)에 발령받은 김미선(33)씨 부부가 그 주인공. 서울 법대를 졸업하고 미국 뉴욕주 변호사 자격증을 가진 이재성씨는 한국 외교통상부에서 1년 정도 재직하다 유엔 공채 시험을 통과해 지난 2007년 4월부터 법률국에서 국제거래 관련 업무를 맡고 있다. 김미선씨는 서울대 경영학과를 나와 미국 공인회계사 자격을 취득한 뒤 삼일 회계법인과 미국 시티그룹 증권에서 근무한 회계분야 베테랑이다. 그는 남편 덕분에 유엔에 들어갔다. 그는 “결혼한 뒤 직장을 그만두고 남편을 따라 빈과 뉴욕에서 생활하면서 유엔에 매력을 느끼게 됐다”며 “유엔에서 내 전공을 활용해 보고 싶은 생각에 도전하게 됐다”고 말했다. 둘은 “아내가 유엔에 들어오면 함께 근무할 수 있을 것”이라고 생각했다고 한다. 하지만 지금은 지구 반대편에서 각자의 일에 매진하고 있다. 부부는 급여도 뉴욕처럼 물가가 비싼 도시에서 간신히 먹고살 정도지만 “서로의 경력을 십분 활용할 수 있고 일종의 사명감도 갖게 된 보람으로 견딘다”고 전했다. 이재성씨는 이 일을 통해 “국제거래 관련 규정을 통일하는 데 기여하는 역할을 하고 싶다”고 말했고, 김미선씨는 “유엔에서 일한 경험을 토대로 사회봉사 기구 같은 비영리 목적의 펀드에서 직접 펀드 매니지먼트를 하고 싶다”고 밝혔다. 이어 “과거엔 스스로 자화자찬하거나, 또는 지나치게 과소평가 받는 경향이 있었지만, 요즘 들어서는 한국이 국제기구 속에서 객관적인 평가를 받고 있는 것 같아 자긍심을 느낀다”며 “반기문 총장을 직접 만나지는 못했지만 그 존재감만으로도 든든한 힘이 된다”고 말했다. 정확한 자료는 공개되지 않고 있지만, 세계 각국의 인재들이 경합하는 유엔 신규 직원 공개채용 시험 경쟁률은 70대 1이 넘는 것으로 알려져 있다. 서류 전형에서 최종 면접을 통해 합격이 결정되기까지는 2년 가까운 시간이 걸린다.

2011-02-23

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SUNG EUN LEE PASSED THE 56TH EXAMINATION FOR HIGHER CIVIL SERVICE FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF KOREA

Sung Eun Lee, a 3rd semester majoring in American Area Studies at GSIS has passed the 56th Examination for Higher Civil Service for the government of Korea. She will be working for the overall trade issues sector for the government.

2011-01-19

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Sir Kenneth Keith, a Judge of the International Court of Justice

On Monday November 22nd, Sir Kenneth Keith, a Judge of the International Court of Justice, gave a distiguished lecture at the Sochon Convention Hall. His lecture was about the International Dispute Settlement followed by a presentation on the UN audiovisual Library for International Law by a personnel from the UN Office of Legal Affairs.    

2010-11-26

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POSCO Asia Fellowship Scholarship Awarding Ceremony

 The POSCO Asia Fellowship Scholarship Awarding Ceremony was taken place at the POSCO Center in Daechidong on November 18th, 2010. A total of six students from GSIS are a scholarship recipient. 3rd Semester Students: Akmal Akhrorov, Noon Paravee, Arvind Kumar, and May Sirinut Thanatrakolsri. Freshmen: Mutiara Baby Admeinasthi and Alexsey Kim. 3rd semester students performed the Korean traditional fan dance and the traditional sogo dance.    

2010-11-26

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GSIS students won the first prize at the graduate student trade thesis competition

GSIS students won the first prize at the graduate student trade thesis competition held by Korea International Trade Association(KITA) and the Korea Economic Daily.   Geary Choe (Int'l Commerce '10), Nahyun Kim (Int'l Commerce '10) took part in the contest as a team named UNI.C,wrote a thesis title "Applying the Modern Portfolio Theory to Korea's Export Risk Management: Focusing on Analyzing the World's Top 10 Exporting Countries" under the guidance of Prof. Chong-Sup Kim.   GSIS SNU has been awarded the prizes at the competition for many times, and received the first prize last year as well under the instruction of Prof. Kim  

2010-11-25

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Inter GSIS Academic Quiz Competition Winners

The first inter GSIS Academic Quiz Competition took place on November 13th at Korea University. A total of 45 students from Yonsei University, Korea University and of course Seoul National University, participated in the quiz, with each university being represented by 3 teams. The quiz questions consisted of a wide variety of topics including Current Events, History, Politics, Economics, Korean Studies and the Arts. The winning team "G5” from Seoul National University was represented by 1st semester students: Tamara Lobzina (Area Studies), Reshma Kamath (Cooperation), 2nd semester students: Pierre Kerlann (Area Studies), Yerim Yun (Area Studies), and 3rd semester student: Yevgeniy Kim (Cooperation). Our reputation of being Number #1 preceded us which the team was only too happy to reaffirm. The competition ended with “G5” coming in first place, receiving W 350,000 in prize money.  

2010-11-24

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Koen C Munneke published an article "Invest North Korea" at Forbes Asia in Hong Kong

  Koen C Munneke, a third semester student majoring in International Cooperation published an article "Invest North Korea" at Forbes Asia in Hong Kong.   http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/23/invest-north-korea-markets-economy-us-policy.html Invest North Korea Koen C. Munneke 07.23.10, 9:00 AM ET   HONG KONG -   Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been rising as the U.S. and South Korea prepare for joint naval exercises in the Yellow Sea. The exercises come in response to the Cheonan sinking. The alleged attack by the North on a South Korean Navy ship in March has left China and the U.S. divided once again on their approach to North Korea. The Americans and South Koreans are using the momentum created by the Cheonan sinking to pressure the North into complying with their nuclear disarmament demands. The upcoming joint naval exercises in the Yellow Sea are designed to "send a strong message," says U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Moreover, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced this week that the U.S. would expand its economic sanctions against Pyongyang as punishment for its continued defiance. But history has shown us that the hard-line wind which is currently blowing through both the White House and the Blue House--the official residence of the South Korean head of state--will probably lead to further escalation. Instead of following the previously ineffective path of applying pressure and saber-rattling, the international community should switch to a pragmatic approach that focuses on investing in North Korea, both politically and economically. The most recent example of failed hard-line policy was in 2001-2003 during the presidency of George W. Bush, who labeled North Korea, Iraq and Iran as the "axis of evil." During that period, a North Korean official allegedly admitted that his country was developing nuclear weapons. In response, the U.S. increased pressure on the North and further isolated it in an attempt to force compliance. Moreover, the New York Times reported that former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld circulated a Pentagon memorandum to key administration officials proposing to oust North Korea's leadership. This aggressive approach backfired as the North proved immune to sanctions. Pyongyang defiantly completed nuclear weapons and missile tests and withdrew from the Non-Proliferation Treaty--which aims to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. So the pressure intended to stop the development of nuclear weapons actually stimulated faster development. A similar scenario seems to be unfolding in reaction to the upcoming joint naval exercises. "Such a move presents a grave threat to peace and security not only to the Korean Peninsula, but to the region," North Korean spokesman Ri Tong Il said on Thursday, adding that the drills would "destroy the mood for dialogue."Even so, he later said that his delegation was still willing to meet the U.S. and Japan on the sidelines of Friday's regional security conference in Vietnam. The North has a long track record of reacting ferociously to outside pressure, Mike Chinoy writes in his book Meltdown. So we shouldn't be surprised if new diplomatic or military reprisals follow the naval exercises. While heated rhetoric from North Korea is the most likely result of the strong outside pressure, there are two other possible scenarios for Kim Jong Il--the current leader of North Korea. First, the North could make an official apology for the Cheonan attack--an incident for which it still denies responsibility. This is unlikely because it could lead to friction within North Korea's military ranks and would further weaken Pyongyang's diplomatic bargaining power with the outside world. This would probably make future negotiations on nuclear proliferation treaty issues far more complex and would have negative consequences for regional stability and progress on the Korean Peninsula. Second, the effects of continued sanctions could trigger a sudden implosion of Kim Jong-Il's regime, a so called 'hard landing.' This unstable situation on the Peninsula could leave China with a flood of desperately poor North Korean refugees and in the power void that followed, could lead to civil war between North Korean military factions. From a regional perspective, the most devastating aspect of regime collapse would be economic. Currently, the per capita income ratio gap between South and North Korea is approximately 15 to 1 and widening. Credit Suisse has calculated that, in the case of a hard landing, building North Korea's economy would cost approximately $1.5 trillion over the next 30 years. If rising wages were to be incorporated, this number would increase to $2 - $5 trillion. That's $67 billion a year. Which countries or institutions, especially in the current economic climate, are willing and able to pay? Keep in mind that the failure to provide economic support would lead to even more instability. These scenarios leave us with two conclusions: First, whether we like it or not, we will have to engage with the Kim family to make progress. Second, a North Korean economic collapse should be avoided at all costs. So, the $5 trillion question is: What should be done? Progress on the Korean Peninsula will hinge on two stages of cooperation. The U.S. and South Korea should move beyond the Cheonan incident and shift back to a pragmatic approach. Such an approach should focus on linking gradual denuclearization to a step-by-step normalization of U.S.-North Korea relations. This was briefly tried during the Clinton Administration in the 1990s under the Agreed Framework, but was quickly scuttled by Republican opposition. Kim Jong-Il puts all concerns--even feeding his countrymen--second to the survival of his regime, and views the U.S. as the biggest threat to preserving power. Yet he showed willingness in the 1990s to follow the aforesaid framework and it might not be too late to reach a similar agreement now. China--as the sole ally of North Korea--would play a fundamental role in this process. Beijing has continued playing its historical role of protecting the 'Hermit Kingdom'. China's efforts to shield North Korea from international pressures clearly showed as it vetoed strong UN Security Council sanctions. The ability of Beijing to get Pyongyang back to the Six-Party Talks--which focus on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula--will be vital. That would clear the way for the second stage of cooperation. After North Korea agrees to trade nukes for a normalization of relations, the international community should facilitate economic reform. Kim Jong-Il has previously shown interest in the Chinese development model--implementing Special Economic Zones (SEZ) within a communist regime. In 2002, the country's only economic journal said that markets had always been a part of the socialist system. The companies that are able to turn North Korea into a land of factories could be the answer to the $5 trillion question of how to quickly improve living standards for impoverished North Koreans. For companies, North Korea could be attractive because of its reported 99% literacy rate and large untapped labor force of approximately 15 million people between the ages of 15 and 64 years. Letting foreign companies use North Korea as a factory would gradually revitalize the economy, raise the standard of living substantially, and benefit companies and consumers around the world. This economic integration into the world could also serve as an incentive for the North to behave more responsibly. The U.S. might hate the thought of cooperating with a regime it despises. But had the U.S. not struck a similar deal in the 1970s, 1.3 billion Chinese people could still be suffering a similar fate. Koen C. Munneke is a M.A. candidate in International Cooperation at Seoul National University and previously received a Master's in Contemporary Asian Studies from the University of Amsterdam.

2010-10-20

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Wine and Cheese party on September 2nd, 2010

On September 2nd, 2010, at Socheon Convention Hall, the student council kicked off the fall semester by welcoming the new students to GSIS with a Wine and Cheese party. At the Wine and Cheese party, many GSIS students, including the newly admitted MIDP students and 30 exchange students were able to weclome and greet each other. Also, Professor Guen Lee and Professor Chong Sup Kim took part in the Wine and Cheese party followed by 2nd and 3rd round get togethers.

2010-09-07

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On August 27th 2010, Commencement for GSIS Masters Degree

On August 27th 2010, Commencement for GSIS Masters Degree candidates was held. At the Graduation ceremony Ms. Lee, Jee Eun delivered a valedictory speech representing her fellow graduating classmates. Professors, distinguished guests, family members, and ambassador of Bulgaria were all in attendance for this joyous occasion to congratulate the graduates on their achievement.

2010-09-06

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GSIS students won the first prize at "Talk Human Rights 2010" Model United Nations Human Rights Council competition

GSIS students won the first prize at the Model UN Human Rights Council competition held by the British Embassy Seoul and Yonsei Law School. Pia Kim, Claire O'Connell and Sumin Jeon (Int'l Cooperation 10) participated in a Model Human Rights Council on the topic of 'Freedom of Speech on the Internet.' Competing with 14 other teams they were selected as the winning team by an expert panel of judges. The team was awarded plane tickets and accommodation for a trip to Geneva to visit the actual UN Human Rights Council and the incumbent Korean delegation.

2010-05-18

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