This year KDI School celebrates its silver anniversary of educating the next generation of global leaders and international experts. To reflect on this, we asked KDI students to share their lives over the past 25 years.

Rujapa Prakongsri (MIPD 2022, Thailand)

Can you describe your photo and navigate us through your life 25 years ago?

25 years ago, I was a 5-year-old girl living in Thailand. At that time, I had just started attending a pre-primary school and was interested in everything. I liked drawing, singing, and learning languages. As you can see in the photo, I was quite an outgoing and confident kid who was not scared to perform in front of a big audience. Probably due to these personality traits I was able to participate in a song competition devoted to Thai Mother's Day organized by my school. It was a special day for me not only because I won the contest but also because I made my parents proud of me. 

How did you imagine your life back then?

Growing up in a family of lawyers, I frequently have been told how important and necessary their job is for people and society. As Martin Luther King once said: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. Therefore, although my family would support every decision of mine, they wanted to transfer their faiths and convictions to me. However, I was too little to understand the laws, abstract duties of attorneys, or notion of justice. Hence, I paid more attention to my family hobbies: both my parents treasured art and creativity. As a result, all my childhood was filled with singing and drawing, and I was fond of it. Perhaps for this reason, I could never imagine my life without singing and thought it was an amazing area to explore and I was ready to dedicate my life to this profession. 

Apart from the arts, I loved learning languages, so I cherished the idea of traveling abroad and talking to local people in their native language. Hence, I started studying English quite early and wanted to practice it with foreigners visiting my country. 

Overall, I would say that I was a very soft-mannered child who loved creative hobbies, participating in different performances, and communicating with people.  

How has your life changed in 25 years and how would you describe your current life?

First of all, I became older and realized that there is no such thing as “the rightest choice.” We do not have to decide on things that make a significant part of our lives, such as our occupation, once and forever. We can be interested in many things, try them out, and then choose our path. I believe this is a privilege of a contemporary person – the ability to explore this ever-expanding world full of knowledge. 

For example, although I assumed my profession would be related to languages or arts, I still chose the path of intellectual property lawyer and even became a member of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association. Despite the difficulties of studying law and consequent working as a lawyer, I am still passionate about my job and strive to improve my qualification. 

As for my love of languages, I continue learning them. For instance, for one year I lived in Norway and studied Norwegian.  Before coming to KDI School, I also worked as a senior trademark attorney at the Korean Desk and started learning Korean. I am happy that now I have all the opportunities to improve my Korean language by taking “Korean Language and Culture III” and “Advanced Oral Communication and Composition in Korean” courses. With regards to singing, recently I participated in KDIS' Song and Dance Festival where I finally had a chance to sing one of my favorite Korean songs in front of an international and Korean audience. 

Thanks to KDI, I was able to realize my most cherished dreams - learning about intellectual property in Korea, improving my Korean language, and singing.

To sum up, I would say that many things change over the quarter of a century, however sincere passion for something will always stay with us no matter what we do for a living. As KDI proceeds to foster future global leaders, so do I continue expanding my knowledge and sticking to my passions. 

Kaung Phyo Wint (MPM 2022, Myanmar)

Can you describe your photo and navigate us through your life 25 years ago?

This photo was taken in 1997 when I won the outstanding student award of my whole region. At that time, I was a good student interested in music, drawing, and debating. Moreover, I was an active student who enjoyed making friends and participating in social events. Looking at my picture, which shows me at the age of seven, brings back many fond memories of the time when I was a promising schoolboy. I still vividly remember my dreams as a child, where the most typical dream was to become a doctor to help others and get a degree from a famous educational institution. However, my life story has taught me that despite many efforts, life does not continually develop according to our plans and dreams. Even though I diligently studied to get into the best medical school in my country, I could not get in. As an alternative, I received a bachelor's degree in information technology. After that, I pursued a career as a diplomat. I never imagined that I would end up where I am today. It was never in my plans, and I never thought it would happen. However, my profession as a diplomat and my studies at KDI allow me to pursue other interests, such as making new friends and participating in social and cultural events. It is remarkable that today, 25 years later, I can regain the self-confidence that I had as a hopeful seven-year-old student at KDI.

How would you describe your current life? How close it is to your imagination 25 years ago.

Growing up has been an emotional roller coaster for me. For 25 years, I changed several occupations and start doing many things from scratch. However, whatever I did I always tried to be friendly and approachable since networking and communication are foundations of success in the 21st century. Starting from college, I actively sought out opportunities to participate in extracurricular clubs, groups, events and competitions, and volunteer work. It helped me feel rejuvenated, energetic, stress-free, and happy. Moreover, attending such events taught me many things that greatly contributed to getting to a position as the third secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar in 2013. Making connections through friendships and networking helped me succeed in my career as a diplomat and in other areas of my life. As a diplomat, I rely heavily on the support and resources I have gained through my network. I am now a student at the KDI School of Public Policy and Management, pursuing a master's degree in public administration. 

KDI School helped me find people who shared my enthusiasm for studying international relations. Thanks to the active student community, I had the opportunity to participate in various extracurricular activities, from art and culture to volunteering and more. Thanks to KDIS, I have been able to quickly expand my circle of friends and acquaintances. KDIS alumni are the best, and I know I can count on their friendship and advice long after I leave campus. Although I did not succeed in becoming a doctor as I had hoped, I was able to continue my education at a prestigious institution, KDIS, and advance in my work.