Seung Gyo Kim and Suk In (Claire) Jung, both seniors majoring in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at Mason Korea, recently received the "Distinguished Paper Award" at the fifth Mason Undergraduate Conference in Korean Studies, held at George Mason’s Fairfax campus in celebration of Hangul Day.
Seung Gyo Kim won second place for his paper, "How K-Art Song Based Storytelling Workshop Serve as a Peace-Making Tool to Bridge Intercultural Gap among the Korean Communities in the U.S." Kim's paper explores the potential of Korean art songs to foster mutual understanding among Korean communities in the U.S. through identity-based dialogue and shared storytelling. He recently led a related peacebuilding workshop in Fairfax.
Suk In Jung won third place for her paper, "Collaborative Leadership and Transparency in Conflict Resolution: A Case Study of Gyeongju's Wolsong Power Plant Subsidy Mismanagement." Jung's paper examines the distribution of subsidies and associated mismanagement in the towns of Naeri and Nasanri in Gyeongju, focusing on the conflict between village members and the tragic events involving their leaders.
The conference, hosted by the Korean Studies Program at George Mason's Department of Modern and Classical Languages (MCL), opened with welcoming remarks by Dr. Robert Matz, MCL Chair and former Campus Dean of Mason Korea. The event also featured a keynote speech by Dr. Hyogun Kym, a distinguished faculty member at Ewha Womans University Business School and an acclaimed composer.