Undergraduates from 6 Asian Countries gather to seek the future of the Asian Economies

The Global Partnership of Asian Colleges (GPAC) 2012 was held onWednesday, August 29 in SUPEX Hall of Building No. 58 SNU College of Business Administration. It was hosted by the club International Finance Seminar (IFS) of CBA.

GPAC is an international academic forum of undergraduate students from various prestigious Asian universities. The main purpose of the forum is to discuss pending global economic issues and conduct seminars to present research. GPAC was first held in 1999 and it originates from the exchange seminar of Korean and Japanese students in 1991. The exchange seminar was hosted by Professor MIN SangKee of SNU CBA and Professor Haruo Shimada of Keio University. Professor MIN SangKee is currently the president of the Financial Quotient Council and IFS’s faculty advisor. Professor Haruo Shimada is currently the president of Chiba University of Commerce.

Students and professors of various nationalities participated in GPAC 2012. The participants were from Peking University of China, Keio University, Meio University, and Chiba University of Commerce of Japan, National Chengchi University (NCCU) of Taiwan, Vietnam National University-Hanoi (VNU) of Vietnam and the College of Management of Israel. They presented their theses concerning macroeconomics, international finance, labor economics and environmental economicson Wednesday, August 29. They also had a team debate the topics of regulation, derivatives, welfare, and key currency under the theme of ‘Rethinking Capitalism’ on Friday, August 31.

Major theses of GPAC 2012 include ‘Global Imbalance’ (SNU), ‘The importance of fostering the Asian bond market’ (Keio), ‘The effect of foreign labor on labor markets’ (NCCU), ’‘Prospects for an FTA between Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and Taiwan’ (Meio), and ‘Assessing Vietnam’s monetary policy through the perspective of monetary rules’ (VNU).

“The purpose of hosting this seminar annually and in each nation is to provide a chance for the undergraduates of Asian universities, who will be the future leading force of the Asian economies, to ponder current issues of the world economy and share their opinions with others,” said Professor MIN. “As an undergraduate seminar, GPAC is worth as much as global economic, management forums as it provides fresh insights on and alternatives concerning present-day economic issues.”

GPAC has been a place of academic exchange for prestigious Asian universities for over a decade. However, it has provided more than mere academic, intellectual exchange with the rising importance of the Asian economies. Through GPAC, students from various Asian countries have been able to deepen their understanding of each other’s cultures and strengthen the existing bonds among them. For more information, please visit the GPAC 2012 website http://gpac2012.co.kr/

Written by KIM Kyuho, SNU English Editor, dkrxmr@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Eli Park Sorensen, SNU Professor of Liberal Studies
Proofread by Brett Johnson, SNU English Editor