Yale University President Peter Salovey arrived in Seoul on March 22 with a delegation of staff members to focus on strengthening Yale’s ongoing engagement in the region. Salovey met with alumni and collaborators at South Korean institutions to continue building the university’s research and educational partnerships in the country and the broader region. A highlight of the trip was a visit to the campus of Seoul National University (SNU), where he met with President Honglim Ryu and members of the university’s leadership team.

At SNU, Salovey also delivered a lecture to students, faculty, and invited guests on the topic of “Emotional Intelligence in the Lab, Workplace, and Classroom.” Following his talk, Salovey participated in a question-and-answer session with audience members. SNU is a member of the  Global Network for Advanced Management, a network of over 30 business schools around the world launched in 2012 by Yale and other institutions.

“I am particularly excited about the growing number of faculty-led collaborations between Yale and universities across the world,” Salovey said. “We have been expanding international collaborations in many areas, including global health and medicine. Of course, Yale’s mission is to educate future leaders in all fields and to serve all sectors of society, so engagement with universities in Korea and other parts of the world is vital to our aspirations.”

Salovey also said, “It was wonderful to speak about emotional intelligence with colleagues and students at Seoul National University. I particularly enjoyed the follow-up questions from students, which demonstrate the wonderful range of topics that the students are studying.”

During the trip Salovey was also welcomed by Yale Club of Korea’s president Charles Lho SOM ‘85 at an alumni event in Seoul, and was interviewed for a feature article about Yale’s interdisciplinary approach in education and its efforts to increase financial accessibility for all families in the publication Chosun Ilbo. 

Steven Wilkinson, Yale’s vice provost for global strategy, noted the important role played by the faculty and student research interests that underpin the university’s international engagements. “The last few years have highlighted how intrinsically linked our work at Yale is with the broader world in which we operate,” Wilkinson said. “As we continue to align the university’s global strategy with our mission of making a positive global impact and our embrace of global networks and exchanges, this visit to South Korea is a terrific example of Yale’s commitment to nurturing our connections in the region.”