The Inha K-Academic Diffusion Research Center successfully held the pre-training session for the 3rd cohort of the K-Connectors program on August 6 in Room 602 of Building 9 at Inha University.

The K-Connectors program aims to promote the expansion of Korean studies in the field of social sciences, with undergraduate students taking the lead in planning and operating their own projects. This pre-training session was organized to help participants understand the purpose of the program and acquire essential knowledge for project planning.

The session included an introduction to the K-Connectors program and schedule, case studies from the 2nd cohort, and a lecture on public diplomacy. In particular, Kim Do-yeon (Inhanuri Team), Kim Tae-yeon (Lips Team), and Jung Da-min (ConnectIN Team) participated as mentors in behalf of the 2nd cohort to share their experience and advice to the 3rd cohort.

Kim Do-yeon, serving as a mentor, shared the case of the INHA-K project, which aimed to foster an inclusive multicultural society through participatory communication activities centered on the lives and voices of international students. The project pursued this goal with four key strategies: experiential education, expansion of public sphere, operation of an information community, and dissemination of digital content. Kim emphasized, “What matters is not the quantity of projects but their qualitative depth. Even for a single project, we need to carefully consider ways to ensure its sustainability.”

In addition, mentor Kim Tae-yeon shared her experience with the Open Your LIPS project, which sought to explore mutual understanding and the possibilities of coexistence between the Chinese-Korean community and the Korean society. During the Q&A session, she explained how the team came to connect with Chinese-Korean schools—where information is often limited—and advised participants to actively consider collaboration with external organizations.

Finally, mentor Jung Da-min shared a case of the project focused on Korean Goryeo people who are prone to being alienated due to institutional and social barriers. She said, “Cooperation and communication are the most important thing when working on a project. If communicating with other team members is not smooth enough, the level of completion of the project might decrease" She advised.

In the following special lecture, “Understanding Public Diplomacy,” Lee Seung-jae, a research professor at Inha Center for International Studies(ICIS) at Inha University, delivered a talk on the theme of “A Comparison with Japan’s Public Diplomacy.” Dr. Lee provided an in-depth explanation of the concept, key elements, and types of public diplomacy, as well as the current state of public diplomacy in the fields of Korean Studies and social sciences, highlighting the differences with Japan.

Meanwhile, the kick-off ceremony for the 3rd cohort of K-Connectors is scheduled for September 4, after which participants will officially begin their team projects. The K-Academic Diffusion Research Center plans to continue their support for the K-Connectors program to facilitate the expansion of Korean studies through diverse initiatives.