Special lecture by Steve B. McKinney (President of McKinney Consulting)

The guest speaker for Special Lecture Series on April 4, 2012 was Steven B. McKinney, the Founder and President of McKinney Consulting, Inc. The business, established in 2001, is an executive search firm, which has placed hundreds of bi-lingual middle-senior level executives for multinational companies in Korea and throughout all of Asia.

Mr. McKinney began the lecture by introducing himself and his achievements in the educational, business, and political field. He has an educational background of a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Business Administration. He has had over twelve years of experience as an Executive Search Consultant and is a Certified Master Coach since 2007. He currently serves on the American Chamber of Commerce-Korea Board of Governors and was bestowed Honorary Citizen of Seoul in 2007. He has also worked as a Senior Global Manager for well-known athletic companies such as Reebok, Adidas, and Converse.

Mr. McKinney explained that he became a successful entrepreneur in the international business community by always remembering how his father told him, “If you work hard, you’ll never go hungry.” This inspired him to always try his best in every goal he set. To help students achieve their goals, Mr. McKinney recommended 10 important steps of career planning which include “Step 3: Update your resume” and “Step 7: Invest in yourself.” He stressed the fact that competition today is tougher than before, thus planning ahead gives a competitive advantage. He also told students that his mindset of McKinney Consulting, Inc. is staying true to the “golden rule” and that it is “more profitable to be ethical.” The inspiring lecture left students with a deeper understanding of what kind of attitude to have to pursue in a career in the international field.

Special lecture by Dr. Ra Jong-Yil

On March 28 2012, the Special Lecture speaker was Dr. Jong-yil Ra, a University Distinguished Professor at Hanyang University. Dr. Ra shared with the students of Division of International Studies his life story, and how it made him the strong, successful man he is today. Dr. Jong-yil Ra was born in 1940 and grew up experiencing the effects of the Korean War firsthand. He had a difficult childhood with very little entertainment and proper education. Through this, Dr. Ra was able to find strength and a stronger will to represent the Republic of Korea. As a young man, he participated in multiple political protests and always took an interest in national and global politics. Dr. Ra graduated from Seoul National University he also earned a doctorate degree in international relations from Cambridge University. He was a former ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United Kingdom and to Japan, and former head of the Republic of Korea's National Intelligence Service. His early career was as a Professor of Political Science at Kyunghee University in South Korea. He also served as Senior Advisor to the President on National Security during the administration of President Roh Moo-hyun. His success even after facing many obstacles during his childhood was very inspirational and gave students a message that opportunities are not given to you; you must make them happen yourself. Dr. Ra concluded his lecture a quote by Mark Twain: “A discriminating irreverence is the creator and protector of human liberty.” This left us thinking that we must actively participate in shaping the future we have because it does not matter what gender or age we are or what kind of childhood we had, but how we act. Being judged is inevitable and it could be tough to earn respect, but we should never give up and always try our best.