On November 4, the 5th Model International Conference was held by the student council in the College of International Studies.

Before the conference, there was a special lecture about official development assistance (ODA) by Jang Bon-soon, who is the head of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). ODA is developed countries like the USA and Japan helping developing countries like Afghanistan and Kenya by lending money or technical assistance to develop the countries. He explained the history, characteristics, and prospects of ODA.

The discussion topic of the Model International Conference was “Can ODA solve problems such as global poverty, inequality, and haphazard development?” Fifteen students from the departments of Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies, American Studies, and Spanish and Latin American Studies participated in this event and represented their majors.

Students in each department explained the purpose and direction of policy in the ODA of each country. For example, USAID, which is an ODA organization in the USA, gives medical facilities or goods to Liberia because the country faces hardship by the ebola epidemic. They spoke about the current situation of ODA cooperation and the problems of environmental preservation, economic development, medicine, and welfare.

The Model International Conference was a chance for students in the College of International Studies to understand the differences between countries and to get interest in important global issues.