Ni Hao! My name is Mi Zeming and I am currently a Chinese student majoring in International Cooperation at Yonsei GSIS. After 3 semester’s study at Yonsei, I found myself particularly interested in North Korean issues and US-China relations, and I wanted to further my insight into my academic interests. Equipped with a brief understanding of the politics, economics and culture of East Asia, I desired to apply my theoretical knowledge that I learnt in school to a professional field through a practical way. I was impressed with what I learned of EAI’s achievements and how it has been serving as a Korean leading think-tank. In this sense, the EAI internship program was a perfect choice for me.

Serving as an intern at EAI over the past 8 weeks, I found myself achieving my goals and got greatly enhanced on this professional platform. I felt very honored that I had a chance to transcribe the webinar for the Global NK Zoom & Connect project in that I gained a lot of keen insights as well as professional views on NK issues after listening to the speech given by esteemed scholars and experts from all over the world. The most interesting and challenging task for me was Korean-English translation for the Asian Democracy Research Network project, which I regarded as a precious opportunity to upgrade my English and Korean skills. Also, as a Chinese intern, I was glad that I could use my Chinese ability to help research on Chinese experts in various fields of East Asian studies. I’ve grown so much through all these tasks and became a better me.

I feel very grateful that this winter internship experience gained me a great sense of accomplishment in making my contributions to EAI’s insightful research and daily operations. Academically, I gained professional perspectives from renowned scholars and experts, and my own comprehensive views on global issues deepened. For the past 2 months, I have received numerous invaluable suggestions and sharpened several practical skills that will be greatly beneficial to me even in the future.

My experience in EAI is undoubtedly an inspiring highlight of my graduate life. Again, I would like to say a big thank-you to all the supportive EAI staff for sharing this fantastic adventure with me. I will carry on what I have gained here to continue to do an insightful study and live a rich life.