On December 1, 2025, a delegation from Korea University led by its president, Professor Kim Dong-One, paid a visit to Tohoku University. The delegation also included Korea University’s Vice President (for International Affairs) Professor Song Sang Kee, and Ms. Cho Hyunjoo, an associate director of their Office of International Affairs.
They met with President Teiji Tominaga, Executive Vice President (for Research) Professor Asako Sugimoto, and Executive Vice President (for General Affairs, International Relations, and Academic Resources) Professor Toshiya Ueki. Tohoku University’s Global Learning Center (GLC) was also represented in the meeting by GLC Director Professor Kazuko Suematsu and Deputy Director Associate Professor Rumi Watanabe.
At the start of the meeting, President Tominaga warmly welcomed President Kim, and they both expressed their desire to further develop student exchanges and joint research between Tohoku University and Korea University by continuing to deepen the institutions’ cooperative ties.
President Kim went on to commend Tohoku University for its accreditation as a University for International Research Excellence. He also mentioned that before the meeting, he visited and was impressed by Katahira Campus’ monument that honors Kim Kirim, an alumnus of Tohoku University who went on to become a famous poet in Korea. (An English-language article on the unveiling of this monument in 2018 may be found here.)
Over the course of the meeting, the representatives discussed the shared strengths of both universities in the fields of medicine, semiconductors, and disaster science, in addition to proposals for concrete initiatives to bolster existing student exchanges.
After the meeting, President Kim and his delegation toured NanoTerasu, the 3GeV synchrotron radiation facility, as well as the Tohoku University International Research Institute of Disaster Science. The delegation showed great interest in both, asking numerous questions.
Korea University’s visit is expected to further promote the cooperative relationship between the two universities in the fields of research and education.
First row (L-R): EVP Ueki, President Tominaga, President Kim, VP Song, EVP Sugimoto
Second row (L-R): Director Suematsu, Associate Director Cho, Deputy Director Watanabe
President Kim (right) and VP Song (left), pictured by the Kim Kirim monument
Contact:
Global Strategy Office
Tel: 022-217-6311
Email: kokusai-r (at) grp.tohoku.ac.jp