After 13 years in Korea working in public education and completing his MPP at KDI School, David Woo is now headed to UC Davis for a Ph.D. in Transportation Technology and Policy. We sat down with David to hear more about his journey, what inspired his research focus, and how KDI School helped shape his path forward.

Kindly introduce yourself.

Hello, my name is David Woo, a Canadian that has resided in Korea for about 13 years now. I applied to KDI School after a brief time in the private sector, and before that, I worked as a program coordinator and administrator within a Korean ministry in support of public elementary school education. I like baking, bicycling, exploring aimlessly, and playing computer games.

Congratulations on your admission to UC Davis.

Thank you! It was my top pick, and I am happy to hear that they liked my application enough to offer me a position in their program.

Could you tell us more about your Ph.D. program at UC Davis? What will you be focusing on, and how does it connect to your previous work in public policy? 

The program is quite unique: Transportation Technology and Policy. Unlike most other traditional academic programs (Ph.D. in Economics, Statistics, etc.), this program and degree is offered via their ‘graduate group’, which looks like a system unique to the University of California group of schools.

My research will focus on sustainable transportation, and more specifically, electric vehicles. This is certainly a broad category, and I hope to explore the various facets of it during my time at UC Davis – all on the side of social sciences and policy.

What motivated your interest in this area?

Living in Korea for over a decade, I saw the initial stages of EV growth in Korea. This was a topic I explored further during my time at KDI School, and coupled with my experiences gained in research, I found that I quite liked it.

What degree did you pursue at KDI School? Did it influence your decision to pursue a Ph.D.? 

I pursued the Master of Public Policy here at KDI School, in light of my time within the Korean government. Originally, I had absolutely no intentions of pursuing a Ph.D., but after completing my program, I saw that research might be a viable career path for me. I would have to say that my time and experience at KDI School was indeed a motivating factor in pursuing a Ph.D. Pursuing advanced methodologies, discovering new knowledge to share, and applying it all in an emerging field was, and still is, highly attractive for me. 

What resources or opportunities at KDI School did you find most impactful in shaping your career and post-graduation life?

I was fortunate to meet many different professors at KDI School, each which played a role in my ultimate decision and ability to be accepted into the Ph.D. Program of my choice. Foremost was Professor Yeong Jae Kim, who I believe was the school’s first environment-focused professor. I’ve engaged in numerous research projects, exploring and practicing new concepts, methodologies, and ideas that ultimately lead me to pursue advanced research after graduation. I am also grateful to Professor Jaehyuk Park for re-igniting my interest and skills in data science and programming, as well as Professors Changkeun and Dongil Lee who also were instrumental in my professional and academic development. I believe that being able to connect with these professors was the most impactful experience that I had at KDI School.

During your studies you have worked closely with Professor Yeong Jae Kim who is well-known for his expertise. What was the most valuable lesson you learned from working with him? 

To simply go out and try! Try playing with the data. Try visualizing it in a different way. Try testing out new ideas. Try connecting with industry leaders when one has the opportunity. Being encouraged to try new things, as silly as it may sound, was an invaluable lesson for me. I was (and am still) highly risk-adverse, but a supportive push in the right direction was a much more meaningful action than one might think.

Beyond that, practical experience in research under his guidance in different ways, including actual academic writing for publication, and the presentation of findings and ideas in an acceptable format for the public and academia (which end up being quite different), come to mind as other valuable lessons I have learned.

Having gone through the MPP program and now preparing for a Ph.D., what advice would you offer to current and future students at KDI School who want to fully leverage their time here and maximize their career potential?

Pursuing a Ph.D. is a wholly personal endeavor and experience. In my case, I believe my profile was hyper-specialized specifically for that program at UC Davis – no other school that I looked into matched what I was seeking for the sustainable transportation and EV area of research, on the side of social sciences. For student colleagues who might be in a similar position, I suggest seeking out schools of interest to see what their respective areas of research are that might interest you. If it ends up being fairly specialized, as was the case of mine, you will likely want to build a profile (e.g., research topics, project experiences, related portfolios, other research experiences) that will let you stand out from the competition. This advice may not apply to those seeking more generalized and broader-scoped programs such as economics or statistics, but even in cases such as these, proven research experience will be attractive to the potential schools you may be looking at. 

What do you think sets KDI School apart from other institutions in terms of preparing students for success in the real world?

KDI School is quite small, which may initially seem like a drawback. However, that also allows for the opportunity to connect with others more easily (at least, in my opinion). Given that it is a policy-focused school, and one that works alongside the Korea Development Institute (KDI), I believe the education acquired here can serve as an invaluable foundation for future growth. Choosing to take data science courses and engaging in an actual capstone project can give you a taste of what an actual research project might look like – in intensity, challenges, obscurity, and quite realistically, failure as well. The same goes for taking classes on statistics and econometrics – incredibly invaluable knowledge and experiences can come from talented individuals like Professors Jisun Baek and Yoon Cheong Cho, who taught Analysis of Market and Public Policy and Quantitative Methods, respectively. Learning, failing, and trying again in a controlled environment are all perfectly okay – that’s what school is about. Doing so in a professional setting where real money, lives, or welfare is on the line is much less acceptable. KDI School offers the opportunity to engage in these learning opportunities in a closer-knit community, but only if the student is willing to step up to participate in them.

There is also the simple administrative side of academic requirements when applying for a Ph.D., as many programs will require a certain level of math and/or programming courses to be completed as eligibility requirements.

Lastly, KDI School has a rough half-and-half mixture of Korean and international students. For many internationals, this will likely be the first time outside of their country, and even for those who have travelled before, it may be their first time actually living in a foreign country. Exposure to a new and different culture, way of life, food, language, customs – pretty much everything can help update worldviews to incorporate a version that is truly more worldly. I’ve learned that how we do things in Canada is neither right nor wrong, but rather, simply how Canadians do things. I’ve witnessed the same thing in Korea as well, and I assume this to be true for other nations based on my interaction with my fellow international peers.

KDI School offers a quality environment to enjoy all of these benefits, and it starts with a conscientious choice to take on challenges and explore differences.