Inha University’s Center for International Studies (CIS) continues to broaden its global academic engagement by strengthening partnerships with leading research institutions worldwide. As part of these efforts, Director Jean Young Lee was formally invited by Nanjing University, one of China’s most prestigious national universities, to participate in the Nanjing Forum 2025, where he delivered a presentation and introduced Inha University’s K-Academic Diffusion Program.

The Nanjing Forum is a major international conference co-hosted by Nanjing University and the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies (CIAS). Recognized alongside the Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin Forums, it is regarded as one of China’s four leading high-end academic platforms. Since its launch in 2015, the Forum has served as a venue where senior policymakers, distinguished scholars, and business leaders from around the world engage in dialogue on global and regional challenges, drawing upon the historical depth and modern dynamism of Nanjing.

The theme of the 2025 Forum was “New Perspectives on Civilization in the Era of Digital Intelligence: East Asia and the World.” Under this theme, the event featured five major roundtables addressing key issues emerging in the digital-intelligence era. Director Lee presented in Roundtable 2: Digital Sovereignty and Governance, Session 3, delivering a talk titled: “Building a New Consular Cooperation Governance: for Transnational Human Trafficking and Human Security Threats.”

His presentation proposed a new framework of consular cooperation governance to address the increasingly complex challenges of transnational human trafficking and human security threats in the digital era. The talk offered an innovative model that integrates human rights, security, and migration policy into a forward-looking international cooperation structure.

During the Forum, Director Jean Young Lee also met with the Dean of the Institute of Government Management at Nanjing University. This meeting provided an opportunity to highlight the goals and achievements of Inha University’s K-Academic Diffusion Program and to explore potential areas of future collaboration—ranging from joint research to academic exchanges. This engagement further strengthened CIS’s ties with leading Chinese academic institutions and reinforced its commitment to advancing Korean Studies and East Asian governance research on a global scale.

As a prominent international platform shaping global debates on civilization, governance, and digital intelligence, the Nanjing Forum 2025 offered Inha University a meaningful opportunity to showcase its academic contributions, foster cross-cultural dialogue, and expand its collaborative network in China. Moving forward, the K-Academic Diffusion Program will continue to promote international scholarly cooperation and contribute to the global dissemination of Korean Studies and interdisciplinary research.