North Columbus News

Three faculty members from The Ohio State University’s College of Social Work visited Inje University in Gimhae, South Korea earlier this summer. Joyce Y. Lee, assistant professor; Sharvari Karandikar, professor and associate dean of academic affairs; and Sehun Oh, associate professor, spent two days meeting with administrators, staff, faculty, and students at the Korean institution.

During their visit, the professors engaged in meetings with the social welfare department and participated in a university-wide research forum. They also met with university leadership and cross-campus initiative teams to discuss potential collaboration between the two universities.

“It was a rewarding experience building global connections that could potentially broaden CSW’s reach and impact,” said Lee.

The visit is part of an ongoing conversation about possible collaboration between Ohio State and Inje University that began over two years ago when Dae Hee Lee, vice president for external affairs at Inje University, visited Columbus. During his trip to Ohio State, he met with David Jenkins, dean of the College of Social Work, to explore ideas for a global exchange program. The college already has similar programs in India, Australia, and Portugal.

“As a follow-up to that meeting, summer 2025 seemed be a good time for a few of us at CSW to go to Inje and scope it out,” Lee said.

“I was interested in whether this could be a valuable learning opportunity for our students through an in-person visit,” said Karandikar. “It could also open up possibilities for our staff and faculty to collaborate with Inje University.”

Vice President Dae Hee Lee welcomed the delegation from Ohio State. “He follows all the football games,” Joyce Lee said. “He’s very excited that we won the national championship last year.”

“We met Minhyon Jeon, president of Inje University,” Karandikar said. “He was a huge fan of Ohio State. It was heartwarming.”

Lee noted that engaging across languages and cultures was challenging but valuable as she shared her expertise during the trip.

“We wanted to be respectful of cultural norms,” she said. “Korean has honorifics, meaning you speak more formally if you don’t know the person or if the person seems more senior. Keeping that in mind was tricky for me.”

She added that both she and Karandikar benefited from using an AI translation program provided by their hosts at Inje University.

“They were incredibly accommodating,” Karandikar said. “I’ve encountered language barriers before, but people were so kind and understanding. I believe it’s equally important for us to approach these experiences with openness and humility.”

For Lee, representing Ohio State abroad was a new experience where she learned from Karandikar’s example as an international liaison.

“I watched Sharvari a lot, trying to soak in how she does it,” Lee said. “How do you form partnerships? How do you represent Ohio State and the college well? How do you build community while staying professional and courteous?”

Lee observed differences in child and family welfare systems during her visit: “It was eye-opening,” she said. “For example, Gimhae has comprehensive child and family welfare serving systems. Seeing how different systems function, in another country, that would be so helpful to our faculty and students.”

Karandikar highlighted sharing information about Ohio State with their Korean counterparts: “I presented on the College of Social Work and Ohio State,” she said. “I talked about who we are: our university, our college, our curriculum, our commitment to community engagement – why we are so interested in and passionate about global engagement.”

Reflecting on their experience at Inje University—and on being warmly welcomed—Karandikar added: “It was the best decision I could have made, both for myself and for the college. We didn’t expect it to be such a big deal. There were banners everywhere ‘Welcome, Ohio State.’”

She recalled one memorable moment: sandwiches served during their visit came with welcome stickers on their wrappers.“That was something else. I have never experienced that sort of warm hospitality and welcome.”