“Cultivating global talent who understand Korea” Executive Director of the POSCO TJ Park Foundation Oh Young-dal

Since its establishment, the POSCO TJ Park Foundation has been dedicated to talent development. It had already set up a scholarship foundation before the production of its first steel products and now focuses on discovering and supporting outstanding talent both domestically and internationally. We had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Oh Young-dal, the Executive Director of the POSCO TJ Park Foundation, which operates a collaborative online King Sejong Institute to provide scholarship students not only with academic achievement opportunities but also with the chance to learn Korean necessary for studying abroad. We discussed the major projects of the POSCO TJ Park Foundation and its vision for 2024.

Hello, Mr. Oh Young-dal. Could you please introduce us to the POSCO TJ Park Foundation? What values of POSCO does the foundation embody?
 

To start from the beginning, the precursor to the POSCO TJ Park Foundation was the Steel Scholarship Association established in January 1971. The first steel product(pig iron) was produced in July 1973, which means the scholarship foundation was established while the factory was still being constructed. Initially, the foundation focused on scholarships for the children of Pohang Steel’s employees and fostering steel industry talent through industry-academic scholarships. Over time, it expanded to include scholarships for studying abroad and community scholarships. In 2005, the Steel Scholarship Association was reorganized and relaunched as the POSCO TJ Park Foundation. The foundation’s orientation, while also embodying POSCO’s founding principles of creativity, nurturing talent, sacrifice, and service, was intended to extend these values globally, and since then, the scope of its operations expanded to include Asia.

Currently, the TJ Park Foundation is involved in several initiatives: the POSCO TJ Park Prize, which honors individuals who serve as social role models in the fields of science, education, service, and technology; the POSCO Asia Fellowship, focusing on scholarships for Asian students studying in Korea and outstanding local university talent in various Asian countries; the POSCO Science Fellowship, supporting promising emerging scientists in Korea; and the POSCO Heroes Award, which recognizes heroic actions that serve as social inspiration, along with the POSCO Youth Fellowship that includes regional scholarship programs.

Before his tenure at the POSCO TJ Park Foundation, Executive Director Oh Young-dal served as the head of POSCO’s New Delhi office in India, primarily focusing on POSCO’s overseas operations. After becoming the executive director of the foundation, were there any projects that you pursued with emphasis based on your experience at POSCO?
 

During my 32 years at POSCO, over half of my time was spent dealing with projects related to Asia, including in Indonesia, Vietnam, China, and Mongolia, and I also worked as an expatriate in Hong Kong and India. I have a relatively high understanding of various Asian countries. The foundation’s projects are heavily focused on Asia, and my knowledge of local conditions and network in these regions significantly aids in managing projects and understanding friends from Asian countries.

Having not long assumed the role of executive director, I am still learning and getting acquainted with the operations of a public foundation. Our POSCO TJ Park Foundation has a history and tradition of over 50 years, producing numerous fellows both domestically and internationally. Based on continuous interaction with our fellows, we are exploring ways to grow the foundation and contribute to human society. Recently, the operations of public foundations are changing widely, becoming more global and diversified. The POSCO TJ Park Foundation plans to restructure its current operations to align with the spirit of the times.

Executive Director Oh Young-dal explaining the POSCO TJ Park Foundation’s scholarship programs

Since signing a business agreement with the KSIF in 2021, the POSCO TJ Park Foundation has been operating a ‘Collaborative Online King Sejong Institute’ targeting ‘Asian Students Korean Study Scholarship’ recipients for three years. You have been providing online Korean language education to science and engineering talents studying in Korea. Could you tell us about the talents supported by the ‘Asian Students Korean Study Scholarship’ program, and why are they being provided with Korean language education?
 

The ‘Asian Students Korean Study Scholarship’ program focuses on nurturing science and engineering talents who can contribute to the development of Asia. Just as POSCO became the foundation of industrial development in Korea 50 years ago, we believe that training science and engineering personnel is essential for building a solid foundation for industrial development in Asia. We mainly select Asian students majoring in science and engineering who wish to pursue graduate studies at major universities in Korea.

Before operating the Collaborative Online King Sejong Institute with the KSIF, we did not provide separate Korean language classes to the scholarship recipients. It became clear that understanding the language and culture was necessary for students to make the most of their study period in Korea. With the rising wave of Hallyu and increasing student demand to learn Korean, we began providing Korean language classes through the King Sejong Institute.

The online King Sejong Institute classes are conducted each semester at levels ranging from beginner to intermediate, according to the students' proficiency. In its first year of operation in 2021, one semester was conducted, and in 2022 and 2023, two semesters were operated, with each semester seeing about 20-30 scholarship students participating. Scholarship recipients who have completed the courses report that they can now communicate in Korean more easily than before the classes, and it has greatly helped them quickly adapt to their graduate studies.

With the global surge in learning the Korean language, talents from various fields are gathering at the KSI. Please share with us if there have been changes that you have noticed in your projects targeting overseas talents at the POSCO TJ Park Foundation in recent years. Also, if there is a memorable talent you recall as well.
 

Initially, most students deciding to study in Korea were interested in Korean language and literature or in humanities-oriented programs such as international graduate schools. However, lately, there has been a significant increase in the proportion of students choosing to study in Korea for advanced technical fields like semiconductors and Artificial Intelligence(AI). It seems to signify that obtaining a degree in advanced technology fields in Korea is as recognized as earning one in the United States or Europe. It is gratifying to see Korea being acknowledged as a technologically advanced country.

In 2005, a Vietnamese student who had received a scholarship visited the foundation last year when they came to Korea for training. Nearly 20 years later, they came to express their gratitude, saying ‘thanks to the foundation, I have been able to grow like this.’ It was impressive to see a fresh-faced 26-year-old graduate student transformed into a dignified professor with graying hair visiting the foundation. It’s a fine example of a seed planted by the foundation growing into a large tree.

Commemorative photo of the Asian Korean Study Scholarship & Vision Scholarship Korean Cultural Experience

Both the POSCO TJ Park Foundation and the KSIF share the common goal of laying the steppingstone of ‘Korea’ for the career paths of outstanding talents. What areas could both institutions collaborate on more in the future?
 

The Korean study opportunities provided by the POSCO TJ Park Foundation not only allow Asia’s outstanding talents to study in Korea but also serve as an occasion for them to understand Korean people and Korean culture. Similarly, the Korean language education and Korean cultural experiences offered by the KSI also provide opportunities to understand Korea.

Students of the POSCO TJ Park Foundation and the KSIF are expected to grow into Asian leaders who understand Korea in the long term. The POSCO TJ Park Foundation actively encourages students to participate in Korean language classes by awarding a completion scholarship of 300,000 KRW to those who participate actively. So far, a total of 26 students have completed the Korean language courses with excellent grades and received scholarships. The foundation also supports self-assessment of Korean language skills among its scholarship recipients through the annual Sejong Korean Language Assessment(SKA). Outstanding students are additionally awarded a language proficiency scholarship ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 KRW.

It is extremely gratifying to realize that students’ Korean language skills are improving through the systematic and high-quality classes offered by the online King Sejong Institute. In the future, it would be great to create opportunities for students to experience Korean culture directly, such as Taekwondo and K-pop, in collaboration with the KSI.
 

Could you please share the level of satisfaction among the scholarship recipients with the operation of the online King Sejong Institute, and if there are any suggestions for further collaboration between the POSCO TJ Park Foundation and the KSIF?
 

The satisfaction levels among the scholarship recipients are really high, exceeding our expectations. For graduate students, who are scholarship recipients, there is a desire to learn Korean, but it is challenging to make time to attend classes physically. The collaborative classes provided through our MOU with the KSI, which allow them to meet with a Korean(native speaker) teacher once a week, seem to be particularly well received because students can directly apply what they have learned.

It is heartening to see that the online classes have become more systematic since we first started collaborating with the KSI in 2021. Now that the pandemic has ended, it seems like a good time to also host offline events aimed at spreading Korean culture among foreigners residing in Korea. The KSI has firmly established itself as an institution for spreading Hangul(Korean alphabet); it would now be beneficial to actively promote Korean culture, making it a center for disseminating Korean culture including Hangul.

Finally, please introduce the vision that you are planning for the POSCO TJ Park Foundation for the year 2024.
 

The upcoming year 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the POSCO TJ Park Foundation. It's a time filled with anticipation and excitement as we reflect on the path the foundation has taken so far and it seems like a time to harvest what we have sown. On the other hand, there are several social issues such as climate crisis, population decline, and balanced regional development. Our foundation intends to spend this time reorganizing our efforts to understand what the spirit of the times is in this era of change and to restart suitable projects accordingly.