On October 6 (Friday), 2023, HUFS held the 14th Matthew D. Lee Katherine H. Lee Scholarship ( Lee Deok-Sun Scholarship ) Awards Ceremony at the Lee Deok-Sun Conference Room (Room 203) of the Main Building.This ceremony acknowledged the contributions of Mr. and Mrs. Lee, who established the scholarship to nurture and develop talent at HUFS. Since its inception in 2010 with the inaugural group of students, this scholarship celebrates its 14th group of recipients this year and has helped support 97 students thus far.In response, Mr. Lee conveyed his appreciation for his alma mater s facilitation of the ceremony. He also offered words of encouragement, saying, I am confident that the scholarship recipients will play a leading role within the university and the nation in the future. It is important to be a good person in life. I hope you will grow into someone who looks out for others, drawing on the knowledge you have gained at HUFS.

HUFS President Park Jeong-Woon participated in the 4th Presidential Forum of the Global Alliance of Foreign Studies Universities (GAFSU) at Shanghai Foreign Studies University on September 13 (Wednesday), 2023. This forum, co-hosted by Shanghai Foreign Studies University and Peking Foreign Studies University, was held from September 13 (Wednesday) to 16 (Friday) under the theme Mission of Foreign Language Disciplines and Area Studies in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. At the event, the presidents of various foreign language universities discussed pertinent topics. Representing HUFS were President Park Jung-woon and Seoul Campus Vice President Kim Tae-Seong.During his keynote address, President Park highlighted how AI technology can enhance personalized language learning experiences and provide immediate feedback in language teaching. He emphasized that advancements in learning tools and platforms driven by AI can revolutionize foreign language education. President Park also showcased examples of academic restructuring and collaboration within Korean universities, particularly in the ELLT department. He underscored that while AI technology plays a pivotal role in improving language skills, its development and application should be guided by a sense of responsibility that encompasses cultural understanding and linguistic expertise.GAFSU is an international consortium of universities known for their excellence in foreign language teaching and research. Comprising 37 member universities from 15 countries, including institutions like Peking University, Shanghai University, and Tokyo University, GAFSU aims to foster collaborative research in foreign language education and regional studies as well as promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges among its members.

On September 19 (Tuesday), 2023, HUFS had the privilege of hosting a delegation from the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization led by former President of Romania Dr. Emil Constantinescu, who currently serves as the institute s director, and explored opportunities for collaboration and exchange between the two institutions.During the visit, Dr. Constantinescu explained the functions and activities of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization. Praising HUFS s pivotal role in teaching 45 languages, including Romanian, across diverse regions like the Middle East and Africa, Dr. Constantinescu conveyed his gratitude for and interest in HUFS s efforts to educate in multiple global languages. As a gesture of appreciation for the visit, Dr. Constantinescu, who devoted 30 years to studying geology at the University of Bucharest, presented HUFS with a copy of his book.

On September 20 (Wednesday), 2023, HUFS had the pleasure of hosting a delegation from the Czech House of Representatives led by Deputy Speaker Jan Skopeček. During the delegation s visit, HUFS showcased the current accomplishments of the HUFS Department of Czech and Slovak Language and discussed future opportunities for educational collaboration between the two nations.In his meeting with HUFS President Park, Deputy Speaker Skopeček shared his deep impression of HUFS' s distinguished history of hosting numerous world leaders. He also expressed keen interest in the Department of Czech and Slovak Language, recognizing its pivotal role in fostering regional experts who advance cultural exchanges between Korea and the Czech Republic.

The 14th English Debating Championship for middle school students, jointly hosted by HUFS and YTN, was held on August 12 (Saturday) and August 13 (Sunday), 2023. The YTN-HUFS debate tournament, conducted online after the outbreak of COVID-19, has maintained its status as Korea s largest and most esteemed English debate competition. Over the past 15 years since its inception in 2009, this event has attracted approximately 9,600 participants across 32 tournaments.A total of 67 three-person teams, reaching 201 participants, joined this year s tournament. This included 52 teams in the General League (international) and 15 teams in the EFL League (domestic). They competed in eight debate rounds covering a range of topics including philosophy, economics, sports, judicial justice, business, culture, and education.The first day of the tournament featured the preliminary rounds organized in a league format, where each team competed in four debates. Advancement to the main round was determined based on the winning percentage and scores in the preliminary league rounds. To compete in the main competition, 16 teams from the international league and eight teams from the domestic league were chosen. Through a tournament format of competitive debate rounds, teams progressed to the final championship.

An undergraduate team from the HUFS Department of Environmental Science (students Yoo Ga-Hye, Kim Si-Hoon, Kim Ji-Min, Woo Myung-Sung, and Lee Dong-Joo) secured top honors in the Urban Forest Category - Seoul Green Trust s Team Award at the 2023 Yuhan Kimberly Green Camp.This year s competition, held in collaboration with Forest for Life, Seoul Green Trust, Peace Forest, and Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute, provided participants with an opportunity to come up with creative ideas to raise awareness, promote, and educate on the importance of forests through field trips and mentorship sessions with forest experts.At the competition, the HUFS student team Oehwan presented its climate crisis response project entitled Seoul Forest+, which centers on encouraging citizen engagement and promoting public interest in Seoul Forest, the most popular urban green space in Korea.

On September 8 (Friday), 2023, HUFS held a ceremony to award retiring faculty members with government prizes and the title of emeritus professor at the President s Office on the Seoul Campus.The faculty members who retired after last semester s lectures, as of August 31, 2023, and were honored with the emeritus professor title include: Professor Soh Byeong-Kuk of Malay-Indonesian Studies and Professor Song Jeong-Nam of Vietnamese at the College of Asian Languages Cultures; Professor Moon Myeong-Jae of Japanese Language, Literature, and Culture at the College of Japanese; Professor Nam Goong-Yeong of Political Science and International Relations and Professors Choi Young and Kim Yoo-Gyeong of Media and Communication at the College of Social Sciences; Professor Jung Hwan-Seung of Thai Interpretation and Translation at the College of Interpretation Translation; Professor Cho Gi-Seong of Bioscience and Biotechnology at the College of Natural Sciences; Professor Gang Joon-Woo of Electronics Engineering and Professor Kim Seong-Bok of Computer Engineering at the College of Engineering; and Professor Lee Jeong of the School of Law. Among them, Professor Cho Gi-Seong was awarded the Order of Service Merit (Green Stripes); Professors Song Jeong-Nam, Moon Myeong-Jae, and Choi Young the Service Merit Medal; Professors Kim Yoo-Gyeong, Gang Joon-Woo, and Kim Seong-Bok the Presidential Prize; and Professors Nam Goong-Yeong, Jung Hwan-Seong, and Lee Jeong the Prime Minister s Prize.At the ceremony, HUFS President Park stated, I am deeply grateful for the significant contributions you have made to HUFS s advancement during your tenure here, and I look forward to your continued interest in HUFS.

KUSEA, a HUFS student economics society guided by Professor Son Jong-Chil, advanced to and won the Participation Award at the national finals of the 2023 Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Competition held at the Bank of Korea Annex Building 1, Grand Auditorium, on August 14 (Monday), 2023. The final competition was open to seven teams that had clinched the top prize in the regional preliminary rounds.The KUSEA team Four Piglet Siblings, made up of lead student Kim Min-Seo (Russian, entrance class of 18) and member students Kim Ji-Eun (Integrated Japanese Studies, entrance class of 20), Park Se-Eun (Economics, entrance class of 18), and Hyun Eui-Chan (Economics, entrance class of 20), participated in the regional and national rounds of the competition from this March through August under the guidance of their academic adviser Professor Son Jong-Chil of Economics as well as Professor Song Jun-Hyeok of Economics, who currently serves as Director of the Statistics Research Institute run by Statistics Korea.At the national finals, the team gave a presentation on the topic of the August benchmark interest rate decision, advocating for a freeze in the benchmark interest rate on the grounds of recent developments in both the local and global economies, financial sector, and foreign exchange rates. Their insightful argumentation earned them honorable mention at the national finals. Additionally, as one of the winning teams, they were granted the privilege of visiting the Office of the Monetary Policy Committee located in the Bank of Korea headquarters and gaining on-site experience.

On August 17 (Thursday), 2023, an HUFS student team clinched the top prize at the 2nd Asan Entrepreneurship Review (AER) University Student Case Analysis Competition, hosted by the Asan Sharing Foundation (Chairperson Jang Seok-Hwan), marking HUFS s second consecutive win.Out of 100 competing teams, six finalists were selected after the initial round of judging. The finalists presented their own analyses of corporate cases published by AER using their fresh perspectives as undergraduate students. Two of the finalist teams were from HUFS, with one (My Super Trip Team) earning the Excellence Award and the other (Green Hair NThing Team) securing the Participation Award.Under the guidance of Professor Jeon Jong-Geun, My Super Trip Team earned the Excellence Award for its insightful analysis of how My Real Trip, a travel startup, successfully weathered the challenges posed by COVID-19 and evolved into a super app poised for sustainable growth.Green Hair NThing Team, under the guidance of Professor Oh Joon-Ho, garnered the Participation Award for its thorough analysis of the existing challenges faced by NThing, a startup focused on agri-food technology, as well as their proposal of an economically viable solution to ensure the company s long-term sustainability.

■ Kim Soo-Gyu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Shanghai (Hwadong) HUFS Alumni Association, donates KRW 100 million to HUFS Development FundOn October 13 (Friday), 2023, Kim Soo-Gyu (English, entrance class of 67), Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Shanghai (Hwadong) HUFS Alumni Association, visited HUFS to meet with HUFS President Park and generously contributed KRW 100 million to the HUFS Development Fund.Chairman Kim remarked, Having had the pleasure of meeting President Park in person at the General Meeting of the Overseas HUFS Alumni Association in July, and then again at the September Shanghai (Hwadong) HUFS Alumni Association gathering, I felt a strong urge to make a contribution toward the advancement of my alma mater. I hope this gesture will serve as an inspiration for fellow alumni to join in. In response, President Park conveyed his gratitude, stating, I extend my heartfelt thanks to Mr. Kim Soo-Gyu for taking time from his busy schedule to visit our cherished alma mater. To reciprocate the affection shown by the Shanghai (Hwadong) Alumni Association, we remain committed to supporting the revitalization of alumni activities at the institutional level. ■ Emeritus Professor Song Yong-Deok donates KRW 100 million to alma materOn October 6 (Friday), 2023, Emeritus Professor Song Yong-Deok (English, entrance class of 73) donated KRW 100 million to the HUFS Development Fund in support of his alma mater.During his tenure as Vice Chairman of Lotte Group, Alumnus Song played a pivotal role in the strategic globalization and advancement of Hotel Lotte, fostering remarkable growth in advanced hotel services over four decades. Song reflected, My time at HUFS instilled in me an international sensibility and business acumen, enabling me to explore diverse overseas markets, achieve corporate milestones, and maintain socially and culturally enriching connections with various nations and businesses. Expressing his longstanding gratitude toward HUFS, he added, I am pleased to fulfill my desire for the progress of my cherished alma mater in this small way. HUFS President Park responded, We are committed to enhancing education and nurturing talents so that more future graduates of our institution can enter society with the same vigor as Vice Chairman Song and realize their boundless potential on a broader stage. ■ HUFS College of English Alumni Association hosts scholarship donation and award ceremonyOn September 22 (Friday), 2023, the HUFS College of English Alumni Association (President Joo Young-Rim, English, entrance class of 79) held a scholarship donation and award ceremony in the Lee Deok-Sun Conference Room (Room 203) of the Main Building.In this Fall semester, the Alumni Association disbursed a total of KRW 41 million in scholarships to ten recipients, affirming its commitment to the development of its beloved alma mater and the nurturing of young HUFS scholars.President Joo stated, Whenever I return to my alma mater, seeing our juniors dedication to their studies fills me with pride. For alumni, contributing to scholarships stands as the most meaningful way to demonstrate our affection for the institution. Our alumni association will continue with this tradition of giving. HUFS President Park Jeong-Woon conveyed his gratitude, stating, We deeply appreciate the alumni association for extending its love and support to our students, enabling them to wholeheartedly focus on their studies. The scholarship donation from the College of English Alumni Association holds special significance as it stems from the contributions of esteemed alumni. We will continue our unwavering efforts to enhance the well-being of our current student body at the institutional level. ■ HUFS hosts 5th HK Produce Group Scholarship award ceremonyOn September 4 (Monday), 2023, the 5th HK Produce Group (President Kim Jong-Ho) Scholarship award ceremony was held in the Lee Deok-sun Conference Room (Room 203) of the Main Building.Mr. Kim Jong-Ho (German, entrance class of 89) established HK Produce Group in 2010, which has since expanded into a global enterprise with branches in New York, Maryland, and Los Angeles. Since 2019, he has been steadfastly supporting junior students in their academic pursuits by establishing the HK Produce Group Scholarship. This scholarship, granted to six scholars every semester, has cumulatively surpassed the KRW 100 million mark as of 2023.In spite of his demanding schedule in the U.S., Mr. Kim graciously made time to visit his cherished alma mater and attend the scholarship ceremony. During the event, he shared encouraging words with the recipients, emphasizing, Each era comes with its own set of challenges, but with a determined spirit, we can overcome them. I hope that the present MZ generation approaches their studies and future careers with the same determination in the face of difficulties. ■ HUFS Hanoi Alumni Association Contributes to HUFS Development FundThe HUFS Hanoi Alumni Association, under the leadership of President Ahn Sung-Goo (Vietnamese, entrance class of 88), made a generous donation of KRW 15 million to the HUFS Development Fund on August 17 (Thursday), 2023. In Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, more than 70,000 Koreans have found their home, representing half of the 160,000-strong Korean community in the country. The Hanoi Alumni Association has consistently demonstrated its deep affection for its alma mater through a spirit of mutual friendship and unity.A remarkable gathering of over 40 HUFS alumni from Hanoi came together to raise this significant sum of KRW 15 million, dedicated to the advancement of their beloved alma mater.This special fundraising effort signifies the beginning of alumni actively participating in the development of their alma mater, highlighting their shared sense of purpose. Additionally, it provided an invaluable platform for the Hanoi alumni community to engage in meaningful communication and exchange, further strengthening the network between the alma mater and the alumni association.