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Dr. Kim returns to the UO to discuss international alliances and environmental sustainability.
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Chong-Chun Kim (M.A. ’84, Ph.D. ’90) stands quietly, hands clasped lightly behind his back, intently listening to a questioning student. But his quiet exterior is quickly betrayed by his impassioned response, which addresses the issues at the very heart of his work: how to guide developing countries in the creation and implementation of economic policies to the betterment of the environment.
Last May, Kim returned to the University of Oregon for the third time in his life to deliver his lecture, “New Paradigms of Environmental Policies in Korea: Challenges and Opportunities.” His goal was to share the insights gained through his experience as Director General for the International Cooperation in the Korean Ministry of Environment (KMOE) and also through his present appointment—“on loan” from KMOE—as Senior Environmental Specialist with The World Bank Group, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that provides countries with various forms of development assistance.
Kim feels that information sharing is key to the goal of overall environmental maintenance. “One of the things I’d like to convey to students is what the global society is now doing in order to cooperate on common issues, to preserve and to protect our environment, and also show them what Korea is doing in terms of sustainability,” says Kim.
He and his wife first traveled to Eugene in 1983 by way of an overseas trade program sponsored by the Korean government. The subsequent experience of studying economics at UO propelled his desire to apply his knowledge and abilities to a greater cause.
Kim remembers his time at the UO as one of the best in his life. “It helped nurture myself and my family to be full of vision, hope, and dreams,” he says. He returned to Korea in 1984 having simultaneously completed a master’s degree in economics and the first year of his Ph.D. study.
In 1988, he embarked on a two-year leave of absence from his position as director at KMOE to complete his doctoral work. His dissertation project culminated in a World Bank-commissioned research project involving India’s drinking water issues.
Kim is quick to credit his academic successes to those faculty members who were most involved. “I felt great achievements and confidence in my learning through continuous, warm encouragement by Professors Stone
[Joe Stone, Dean, College of Arts & Sciences] and Griffin [Charles Griffin, now with The World Bank],” says Kim.
In the twelve years since Kim first adjusted himself to Oregon life, his focus and quiet energy have advanced many groundbreaking economic and environmental policies, both in and out of Korea. At home, he has been the backbone of a project that has refined emission charging systems. He also arranged the first international workshop between Korea and the United States, which resulted in the exchange of an environmental policies memorandum of understanding—a significant event.
On a global level, Kim enforces his belief in the power and necessity of forging strong partnerships by piloting the Environmental Knowledge Partnership—a World Bank-sponsored consortium project created to share Korea’s knowledge and experiences with economic and environmental policies with other East Asian and Pacific-area countries. Currently, project members have identified China, Vietnam, and the Philippines as countries that are caught in the complicated weave of rapid economic growth and the subsequent negative impact on the environment. “I cannot overemphasize the importance of international cooperation,” says Kim of the project’s potential in improving the course of development for such countries.
His involvement in the project caught the eye of Dean Stone and led to his third and most recent return to the UO campus, this time to participate in the Environmental Studies department’s lectureship series. Students who attended were impressed with Korea’s progressive environmental policies, says Van Kolpin, professor and head of the Economics department. “[Kim] is one of our own Ph.D. alumni, so it was a special treat to visit with him and become acquainted with his recent work. The department is very proud of his professional accomplishments,” says Kolpin.
Returning to Eugene is a pleasure for Kim as well. “I feel like I’m coming home to family,” he says.
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