| by Eva Gudbergsdottir

News Stories

MIIS Student Yoo Dong-suk standing outside
Middlebury Institute Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies student Yoo Dong-suk MANPTS ‘21.

Middlebury Institute Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies student Yoo Dong-suk MANPTS ‘21 is the winner of the APLN/Korea Times essay contest on “Youth, Disarmament, and Peace in the Asia-Pacific Region.” He will receive a monetary award of KRW 2,000,000.

The essay contest is hosted by the Asia Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament (APLN), a think tank based in Seoul, South Korea, and the Korea Times, a major daily English-language newspaper, and sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. 

 

As a student who wants to make a career out of nonproliferation, this award means a lot to me.
— Yoo Dong-suk MANPTS '21

“As a student who wants to make a career out of nonproliferation, this award means a lot to me,” says Yoo Dong-suk, “especially since I received this award based on the essay I wrote about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and the prospect for South Korea and Japan signing the TPNW.” He adds that he is grateful for the supportive Institute community. “Whenever I had a question, I could ask my professors and colleagues that are experts in the field. The knowledge I have accumulated through my classes and discussions helped me choose my topic and formulate my arguments for this essay. I couldn’t have written it without them.”

Dong-suk mentions three classes that have been particularly helpful for him in preparing for writing this essay, and for his future career; the NPT Simulation with Dr. William Potter, the Deterrence Seminar by Dr. Jeffrey Knopf, and Security and Arms Control in Northeast Asia class taught by Dr. Jeffrey Lewis. “I learned about the current dynamics of extended deterrence in East Asia in Dr.Lewis’s class, theoretical background in Dr. Knopf’s seminar. In the NPT Simulation class, where I am a delegate of Japan, I could learn about Japan’s position and its public sentiment on the TPNW. I highly recommend students interested in East Asia and nonproliferation to take these courses since I wrote my essay from what I’ve learned in these courses.”

For More Information

Eva Gudbergsdottir
evag@middlebury.edu
831-647-6606