The 2023 season of Asia Society Korea Youth (ASK-Y) launched with its first session, “COVID-19's Impact on Youth and Education: The E-Learning Shift and Digital Divide,” hosted by Executive Director Yvonne Kim. 

Moderated by Jevon Dixon, a doctoral candidate in international relations at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, the session featured presentations that explored various perspectives on e-learning and the digital divide with a focus on how the phenomenon affects the youth. 

The “Study Group Agenda” was started by Alissa Yanik-Woods, a bachelor of law and international relations at Bond University, who discussed the impact of a lack of education on mental health and future job prospects in the context of war.

The second presentation, held by Edwyna Kurniawan, a master’s candidate in development cooperation at Ewha University, focused on teachers’ rights as an essential element of a balanced and empowering education, inspired by the current discourse in South Korea, UK, and Australia.

The “Study Group Agenda” proceeded with a presentation by Ignacio Barroso Gómez, a recent graduate of international relations from Rey Juan Carlos University, looking at the strengths and weaknesses of e-learning approaches in the context of war and focusing on the mental health aspects of the topic.

François de Navacelle, a master’s candidate in economics at Yenching Academy of Peking University, dug deeper into the digital divide and its implications for education and mental health while introducing the relevance of colonial heritage in francophone Africa.

Jevon Dixon then presented on strengthening capacity building through international cooperation to span the digital divide with a comparative look at case studies from developed and developing countries.

The “Study Group Agenda” closed with Zumaro Zumaro, a doctoral candidate in advanced nuclear engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology. The presentation discussed the potential and challenges posed by e-learning in remote, electricity-scarce areas.

The discourse of the first ASK-Y session covered the influences of AI on the backdrop of the decline of globalization and population, as well as the development of cyber warfare and its implication on digitalization and e-learning.

2023 Panel Sessions and Topics