The K-Connectors program, run by the K-Academic Diffusion Research Center under Inha Center for International Studies(ICIS), has been carrying out various activities with the aim of spreading Korean studies in the field of Social Science since the first term. The 'Han-Bridge' team drew attention by planning and operating the 'Inha Student Democracy Colloquium' project based on the 'Democratization and Democracy in Korea', a K-MOOC course.

Prior to the full-fledged project, the Han-Bridge team produced a democracy booklet to distribute it to participants in the Colloquium. The booklet contained information that was deepened, including theories and concepts of democracy based on the K-MOOC course, and practical application cases. Choi Jae-hyuk (Department of Political Science and Diplomacy, senior) who led the team said, "Through the process of producing the booklet, we became deeply aware of the need to reflect on and defend the democratic system, and we were able to spend a meaningful time discussing democracy freely with the participants."

Inha Student Democracy Colloquium was held three times, with a total of 43 domestic and foreign participants participating. The first round was held as an offline event for Inha University students and the general public, and the second and third rounds were held online for students of the Korean National Association and Almaty Business University in Almaty, Kazakhstan, respectively, providing a venue for international exchange.

The Colloquium was composed of a total of three parts. In part 1, a lecture was held using a brochure produced by the Han-Bridge team, and in part 2, an in-depth discussion on the subject was held through various discussions led by participants. In part 3, exchanges from various perspectives were actively conducted through free question-and-answer and experience sharing.

Participants freely exchanged in-depth opinions with each other by discussing topics such as ▲ democracy for themselves, ▲ ways to improve the credibility of political groups, ▲ experiences of political participation in daily life, and ▲ specificity of Korean democracy.

▲ Photo of offline colloquium activity

▲ Photo of online colloquium activity

After completing the project, the Han-Bridge team conducted a survey of participants to check the effect of raising awareness of democracy. As a result, most of the participants responded that their understanding of democracy has deepened. In addition, the majority of participants gave very positive responses such as 'I was able to have a deeper understanding of the development process of democracy' and 'It was a meaningful time' through the satisfaction survey.

Through this project, the Han-Bridge team has achieved results in establishing a human network with young people from abroad as well as domestic students, and forming an international consensus on democratic values. In addition, the core contents from the Inha Student Democracy colloquium went viral through social media in conveying the Korean democratic experience not only to direct participants but also to indirect participants such as students, ordinary citizens, local communities, and members of the international community. The Han-Bridge team's activities, which contributed to shaping Korean studies in the social science field through creative planning and practice-oriented program operation, will continue to contribute widely spreading Korean studies.

The booklet of Han-Bridge team can be downloaded as the attachment below.