Greetings

 First of all, I would like to offer my sincerest welcome to the Cambridge University Korean Society (CUKS). Our members consist of both Korean and non-Korean students studying here in Cambridge, and we are a registered society of the Cambridge University Student Union (CUSU). Our raison d’etre is to serve as a medium of social and academic interaction for all Korean undergraduate and graduate students within the university, and also to promote Korea and Korean culture to the students of non-Korean origin.

Furthermore, we also actively seek to reach out to the wider expatriate Korean communities in and around Cambridge and promote our cultural identity through joint events, such as our hugely successful World Cup Sports Day and Barbecue in June.

Over the next year, we plan to hold various activities, some of them in conjunction with the Faculty of East Asian Studies. In addition to our usual freshers’ welcoming party, a joint social with Oxford University Korean Society and the annual dinner, we will also host the very first Korean Film Festival at the Arts Picturehouse in November. We also plan to launch our inaugural society formals, as well as swaps with other societies within the university. This term will also see a number of high-profile talks by a prominent Korean national assemblywoman, the current Korean ambassador and a Pulitzer-winning journalist whose meticulous investigation of the Korean War deepened our understanding of our recent, tragic history.

In addition to these great social and academic activities, we will host a number of recruitment events, which will help our members in deciding their future career paths. We will advertise and invite various recruitment dinners organised by both Korean and multi-national companies from different industries. All these events will be announced on the website, so please check the recruitment board regularly.

Above all, we are here to promote and encourage long-lasting, deep friendship between our members. Our social and academic events will provide you with a valuable opportunity to meet people not only from Korea, but from various places around the world with fascinating and diverse backgrounds. We hope that you meet and befriend the true, lasting companions in your life through our society. But this will only be possible with your support.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our committee members, who always put hard work into making our events successful and enjoyable. My gratitude also extends to Je-Hyeong Hong, who, despite not being one of our current committee members, devoted so much time to renew and make our website more accessible.

Thank you, and with best wishes,

Jee Hyun Park (Caleb)

CUKS President, Academic Year 2011-2012