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Muhong Lee and Hanna Suh attended two-week program at Schloss Leopoldskron
Muhong Lee and Hanna Suh from South Korea were among the 46 participants who joined the 16th program, After the Pandemic: How Can Media Advance Equitable and Just Civic Futures? of the Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change as part of the Korea Foundation Fellowship.
Muhong recently completed his dissertation as part of his master’s degree in international economics and governance at the University of Bayreuth in Germany. He works as a political research writer at German Bundestag for a member of parliament for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
Hanna Suh is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in communication at Seoul National University (SNU). She is a researcher at the SNU FactCheck Center, lending support to different projects to provide fact-checking training to journalists. She is also involved in peace building activities as an advisory committee member of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, which focuses on the reconciliation between North and South Korea.
Speaking to Salzburg Global, Muhong and Hanna reflected on their experiences at the Academy.
“People gathered here at Schloss Leopoldskron after the Second World War for the first session of the Salzburg Global Seminar in 1947. Because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, we need more international communication in the same spirit as 1947. The Academy was a timely event to gather and reimagine how media can advance equitable and just civic futures,” said Hanna.
“Governments across the globe struggled with political communication during the pandemic, and we all underestimated the importance of media. Many people focused on political communication with other stakeholders, but not much on citizens. The program taught me how important it is to simplify information, so it's understandable for everyone.
“My takeaway from the Academy would be gaining valuable insights into how media works through different lectures and seminars, exchanging ideas with people from all over the world, understanding the issues different countries are facing and their approach to tackle them,” said Muhong.
Both Fellows expressed their gratitude to the Korea Foundation for giving them the opportunity to be part of such an insightful and transformative program where they met a diverse group of people. Their hope is that more South Koreans will join the Academy in the future.