Subscribe to our newsletter by emailWelcome Kayoung Cho, Our Third Korea Foundation Intern
Early in March, the Libraries welcomed Ms. Kayoung Cho, our new international intern, who came to us under Korea Foundation (KF)'s Library Internship Program. The KF program is designed to provide the youth of Korea with "meaningful work experiences and related opportunities at prestigious libraries abroad." This is the third year that the UCI Libraries have been chosen by KF as an internship site.
As the result of a mutual selection process, Ms. Kayoung Cho became the finalist for the 2018 Intern at UCI Libraries. Ms. Cho holds a bachelor's degree in information science from Dongduk Women's University and a newly earned master's degree in education and development from University of East Anglia. Ms. Cho will be with us until the late December. During her 10-month long internship with the Libraries, Ms. Cho will gain experience mainly in public service, collection development and management for the Korean studies community on campus, under the guidance of Dr. Ying Zhang, the Research Librarian for Asian Studies. In addition, Ms. Cho will have opportunities to learn about other new forms of library collections and services, such as data management and curation and digital scholarship services. She will also attend various local meetings and travel for library visits and conference attendance.
Before Ms. Kayoung Cho, the Libraries hosted Ms. Hyein Sohn in 2016 and Mr. Junsup Kim in 2017. Both regarded their internship with the Libraries as precious and invaluable. Ms. Sohn completed her master program at Chung Ang University upon return, and was recently hired to work at the prestigious Seoul National University Medical Library managing the library's serials collection. Mr. Kim was hired as a researcher, a permanent position, at National Research Foundation of Korea soon upon his return. He wrote to Dr. Zhang, his mentor at the Libraries, "I am sure that the opportunity that I had as an intern and various experiences with you made me get this good position."
This is one of many continued global outreach efforts the Libraries have made in line with UCI's strategic plan. According to Dr. Zhang, the KF internship program is mutually beneficial. Whereas interns gain the opportunity "to develop the international mindset and special expertise needed to advance onto and succeed in the global arena," the Libraries and research community on campus are able to benefit from their work given the desired language skill paired with the library and information science background.
For more information please contact Dr. Ying Zhang, Research Librarian for Asian Studies and KF interns' supervisor at yingz@uci.edu.