KDI School students come from a wide variety of backgrounds. You can meet people from different countries and from all walks  of life in one place, which is difficult to do in the outside world. Today, reporter Suhyun Lee interviews Jae-Hum Kim, a student of KDI School, the head of the National Institute for Civil Defense and Disaster, and now, a writer. He has an extraordinary fondness for E nglish and that eventually led him to write a book. In the interview, he shared more about himself and his life journey.

Please introduce yourself.

My name is Jae-Hum Kim, a part-time MDP student in the spring of 2022. I am currently the head of the National Institute for Civil Defense and Disaster Management under the Ministry of Public Administration and Security. I have had a pretty varied and interesting  career. I had been a civil servant since 1993 and took on human resources responsibilities until 2010. Fortunately, I got the chance to work abroad relatively late. My first official trip took me to Singapore, and three years later I worked at the OECD Korea Representative Office in Paris. I also served in the Blue House twice, first in 2007 for the Roh Moo-hyun government and then in 2013 for the Human Resources Department of Secretary General of the Park Geun-hye government.

Why did you decide to study at this age? Is there a reason why you chose to attend KDI School?

After I started my job as a civil servant, I did not have enough time or desire to attend part-time courses due to excessive work. There is only one reason why I decided to study at KDI School 32 years after graduation: English. I heard that there are many international students at KDIS, and it is a good environment for me to practice my English and learn about various cultures. 

Also, when I had my first overseas assignment in Singapore, Professor Joon, Oh , the current professor of KDI School, was the ambassador of the Korean Embassy. When I attended an event with Ambassador Joon, Oh , I was very embarrassed because I could not speak English. He gave me a great motivation to learn English.

What program are you in and what courses have you taken?

With retirement looming and only a few years left in public service, I had been thinking about what I wanted to do next. I wondered if I could use my work and experience to share some of our administrative skills and disaster management knowledge with developing countries. That's why I decided to join MDP. I took Quantitative Methods in the second semester and learning math and statistics in English was hard. I was terrible at math in high school, so it was even harder. I took Policy Process Analysis, and what I learned in that class was useful for my work. We always do policy pragmatically, but we do not know much about process. It was a good opportunity to learn about the theoretical process of how policy is made.

Do you have any unforgettable memories of KDI School?

I met a very good friend at KDIS, Ariane. Although she has returned to her home country, the Philippines, we still keep in touch. I invited her to dinner and introduced her to Korean food, like samhyeobsal and yangnyeomgalbi. I printed out our Kakao chat record to use as an appendix for my book, and I got 28 pages in A4. I also attended a school club, the badminton club. I played once as a coach and had a wonderful match. I am grateful for this opportunity.

Please give a brief introduction to your book.

Until I was 47 years old, I could not speak a word of English, and English was complex for my whole life. In high school, I received only an F for English. That changed when I went to Singapore in 2010. I met a friend named Tomas, and he was the turning point. I had lunch with him four to five times a week and watched movies together. Thanks to Tomas, I started speaking English and could work in Paris. These days, I listen to the CNN or BBC news every morning, read the newspaper, and talk on the phone in English three times a week. Overall, the book is about how I overcame my fear of the English language, from my school days to today.

Please let us know your future plans if you have any.

There is no definite plan to write more books, but I have several goals for the future in terms of what I want to do after retirement. First is to be a development policy advisor for developing countries, based on my skills and what I have learned. Next, I would like to attend the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation. Furthermore, I imagine giving a TED talk in English about my life story. If I can do these things, I think I could write another book by putting them all together!

How has English affected your life?

At this moment, I am enjoying English to the fullest; it has become my daily life. English has changed my personality and my attitude towards life. I used to be very shy, introverted and did not like to speak in front of others. I used to listen rather than speak. But to practice English, I have to approach others first. No one just comes up to me and talks to me. Like in Singapore, I always reached out to Tomas first and started conversation. English not only affected my language skills, but also changed my attitude from passive to active. Now, I have a positive mindset. The more people I met, the more extroverted and positive I became. English has had a tremendous synergistic effect in my life.

Please give advice to students.

Students tend to be shy at a young age and have difficulty starting a conversation. But, be bold! Some actively interact with the international students, but some students just leave the classroom as soon as class is over. Since you are already in this environment, please reach out to them, approach them, and be friends with them. You can learn about different cultures, gain a broad perspective, and make valuable connections. KDI School offers you this special opportunity and please take advantage of it. Do not be shy, just enjoy the moment!