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Soeun (Sarah) Lee is a third-year student, majoring in International Studies (Politics and policy in the global economy) and Economics (Math emphasis) with a certificate in East Asian Studies. Soeun was born and grew up in Korea until she came to the United States at 15. She spent a year in Oregon as an exchange student, and went to and completed international high school in New York, where she completed the International Baccalaureate Diploma program. As she has been always exposed to different cultures around the world, and meeting friends from all over the world, she became familiar with living in the international environment.

Growing up in a military family in Korea, Sarah has been interested in Asia-Pacific relationships, including North Korean issues, which led her to the IS Major. She decided to major in Economics as her interest narrowed down to Asia-Pacific economics. At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, she has taken several courses with the IS Major that fit her interest, such as International Business, Chinese Migration since 1500, International Industrial Organization, Korean History from 1945-present, Globalization and Education, and International Institutions and World Order. Taking Globalization and Education – which highlighted locating globalization in different spheres and thinking through the perspectives of ‘others’ – and a modern Korean history, she also became interested North Korean refugee resettlement issues and wrote final papers for both courses focused on North Korea.

She is currently working at the International Studies Major Office as a communication intern and has been also involved in several international-oriented student organizations, including UNICEF UW–Madison, Global Economic Forum (GEF), and The Wisconsin International Review (The WIRe). As a member and VP of the research team at GEF she has conducted a research and held a forum on the Hanjin Shipping Crisis in Korea (November 2016), Trans-Pacific Partnership (April 2017), and Health Care System in the world (November 2017). She has also covered the Asia and Oceania region for GEF’s bi-weekly newsletter and is a writer for the WIRe, publishing three articles about South Korean economic structures, diplomacy surrounding the Park scandal and Trump’s visit to Asia, as well as the recent Bitcoin frenzy (see below).

Soeun (Sarah) is planning to go to graduate school after graduation, studying Asia-Pacific policies and economic relationships. Even though she has not made a concrete decision, she wants to keep working in an international environment and hopes to work in think tanks on Asia-Pacific relationships.

New Cold War, or Make China Prosper
https://thewire.wisc.edu/2018/03/27/new-cold-war-or-make-china-prosper/

Bitcoin: Too Early to Talk About Future of the Currency?
https://thewire.wisc.edu/2018/01/18/bitcoin-too-early-to-talk-about-future-of-the-currency/

South Korea’s Clever Diplomacy During Trump’s Visit to Asia
https://thewire.wisc.edu/2017/11/29/south-koreas-clever-diplomacy-during-trumps-visit-to-asia/

Opportunity for South Korea to break up ‘Chaebol’ system
https://thewire.wisc.edu/2017/03/05/opportunity-for-south-korea-to-break-up-chaebol-system/