May 28, 2019
Chris Woodley • cwoodley@mailbox.sc.edu

The College of Social Work’s Korea-Based MSW program recently received a generous donation from alumnus Ji Yeon Jeong to help promote the Korea-Based MSW program and student recruitment. He graduated as part of the fourth cohort of the Korea-Based MSW program in 2003.

“Our student demographics have changed over the years and one difference I have observed is that younger students are now attracted to our program,” Director of the Korea-Based MSW Program Kyunghee Ma said. “These students bring new knowledge and different perspectives to the program. “Mr. Jeong’s donation is meaningful because it shows the active involvement of former graduates into our program and helps connect older and younger students. It is my hope that the challenges we face in Seoul bring opportunities to gather students together and solidify relationships across different cohort members, and all our graduates will use the knowledge and experiences in our program to constantly improve the field of Korean social work practice.”

Mr. Jeong is chairman of Gwangwon Construction Co., Ltd. in Korea. He regularly participates in volunteer activities in tandem with local social service agencies and organizations, such as distributing meals to individuals and families with food insecurity. In 2016, Mr. Jeong became a member of the Honor Society, an organization established by the Community Chest of Korea to promote a culture of donation, sharing and charity. He also received the President’s Award in 2018 for his excellence in contributing to the betterment of society.

Mr. Jeong also enjoys music and created a music hall within Gwangwon Construction to host numerous concerts for the past 10 years to create opportunities for talented musicians. He currently invites multicultural family members living in Korea to music performances. This helps create psychologically safe spaces, narrows the cultural gaps between native Koreans and multicultural family members, and help multicultural family members successfully adjust to Korean culture. The actions are part of Mr. Jeong’s goal to build healthy and stronger families that serve as the headstone of the community.    

“Since the completion of our program, Mr. Jeong has actively sought different ways to share his wealth with those less privileged and to use his education to improve the community,” Ma said. “He is also creative and demonstrated different and unique ways to engage with community members. Mr. Jeong has clearly demonstrated what social work education can do for the community across all individual, structural, and cultural levels. This is an inspiration for current and future students.”