Korea and the World, popular podcast led by SNU students
Korea and the World is a podcast that interviews intellectuals in Korea about current political, economic and social issues. Interviewees are quite diverse, ranging from professors to writers to analysts, all of whom are able to discuss those issues from a Korean perspective. Consequently, the topics are diverse, including domestic and foreign policies, traditional culture and economic transformation.
The podcast has been established and operated by three students at the SNU Graduate School of International Studies – Guillaume Darier, Maël van Beek and Max Nurnus. Episodes are uploaded approximately three times per month. To date, there are a total of 15 episodes available for viewer to watch, with the first having been published on December 1, 2014. Each episode is about 40-50 minutes long, and those interested can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and sign up to get regular updates via newsletters.
The motivation for creating this podcast was to not only provide opinions of experts regarding various issues from Korea's perspective, but also to introduce these experts to the audience. From the viewpoint of the Korea and the World creators, many intellectuals and professionals who are highly knowledgeable about Korean society seemed to be relatively unknown to the general public in South Korea as well as other countries. Thus, by subscribing to the podcast, the audience can gain an insight into some of the key issues in Korea while at the same time become aware of several experts in such fields. As for those who are already familiar with the experts interviewed, the podcast serves to provide an innovative and interesting approach to the existing issues. For example, some episodes focus on the following questions:
- Is there a political role for Buddhism in Korea?
- What is Korea doing for developing countries, now that it has become a global economic power?
- Can Seoul develop into a startup powerhouse?
- Is the North Korean economy undergoing dramatic change?
The viewpoints of experts with regards to these topics can be easily accessed through Korea and the World.
In terms of personal motivation, the members of the podcast team mentioned that they are all from colleges where student autonomy and entrepreneurship are common, which led them to start this project at SNU so that they could"represent [their] new alma mater in a positive and professional way." Furthermore, meeting great opinion leaders in Korea is another valuable aspect of operating the podcast. In order to discuss a variety of subjects, Korea and the World selects appropriate speakers so that they can maintain a balance of societal, economic and political topics. At times it is difficult to personally contact top experts and professionals, but many potential guests have been contacted via email, LinkedIn, Twitter or over the phone, and most of them were very supportive of the podcast. In addition, the podcast takes advantage of important public events or conferences to seek potential interviewees, as in the case of bestselling author Suki Kim, who had been attending a book tour in Seoul.
At present, the number of listeners subscribing to Korea and the World is steadily mounting. Each episode has been downloaded approximately 350 times on average, and the Facebook page has almost 800 likes. The majority of the listeners are non-Koreans primarily located in Korea and the United States, but as the podcast is being distributed through Korea Observer (www.koreaobserver.com) the number of subscribers is expected to increase with more episodes introducing Korea's perspective on diverse issues.
More information about the podcast and its episodes can be found at:
Homepage: http://www.koreaandtheworld.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katwpodcast
Written by YOON Jiwon, SNU English Editor, jiwonyoon@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Eli Park Sorensen, SNU Professor of Liberal Studies, eps7257@snu.ac.kr
Proofread by Melora Brett Briana Johnson, SNU English Editor, morningcalm2@gmail.com