Governance
of the Maison de la Corée

Tell us about your career path and how you came to the Cité internationale.

I worked as a teacher within the South Korean national education system for seven years, during which I interacted with many students. I then continued my career as an educational policy officer at the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea. For twelve years, I developed policies relating to school curricula and textbooks, as well as the human resources system for teaching staff. More specifically, during the last two years of this period, I was responsible for implementing the national curriculum throughout South Korea. In particular, I ensured the smooth implementation of the central government’s policies in primary and secondary education.

Building on these experiences, I was subsequently appointed by the South Korean Minister of Education as Director of the Korean Education Center in France and Director of the Korean House in Paris. In these new roles, my responsibilities are to contribute to the promotion of Korean culture and education, as well as to the development of educational exchanges in an international environment.

In your view, what makes the Cité internationale a unique campus in the world?

The Cité internationale is not simply a student housing complex. It is a truly vibrant international community, where students from all over the world live together and naturally share their cultures and values. It fosters the development of a community based on mutual respect and understanding, while preserving the unique identity of each country. In this respect, it offers a unique international educational environment that clearly stands apart from any other educational setting.

How does living in your house give residents a different perspective on the world and serve as a springboard for their future?

The Maison de la Corée, too, is not simply a place to live. Through various cultural programmes and community activities, it provides an environment conducive to discovering, understanding and respecting the different cultures represented among its residents. In particular, programmes covering both traditional and contemporary Korean culture help develop an appreciation of cultural diversity. This naturally contributes to broadening residents’ perspectives as global citizens. In our view, these experiences are a major asset for their future and for their future engagement in an international environment.

If you had to sum up the Cité internationale in one word, which word would you choose and why?

I would choose the word “coexistence”. The Cité internationale is built on connections between different cultures and people from diverse backgrounds. On this basis, it enables everyone to recognise and respect each other’s differences and to build an ideal model in which people live together in harmony. Beyond “me” and “you,” it is a small society of coexistence where we live as “us,” and the Cité internationale thus takes on a profound meaning.

We hope that, through their experience at the Cité internationale, students will come to see the world not as a space of competition, but as a space of coexistence, and make this vision a reality in their future.