Mock UN General Assembly to be held Saturday at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

A poster for a mock U.N. General Assembly meeting to be held Saturday at the Seoul campus of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) / Courtesy of HUFS

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies’ (HUFS) International Model United Nations (HIMUN) will host its 50th General Assembly program on the university’s Seoul campus on Saturday.

The university said Wednesday that the mock U.N. General Assembly will be held under the theme “International Standards of Economic Security and the Reconstruction of Global Supply Chains” at Obama Hall in the Minerva Complex.

The assembly will be co-organized by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, the Korea Economic Research Institute and the Korean Association of Trade and Industry Studies.

The university said the event aims to explore standards for economic security measures and ways to promote international cooperation as national interests surrounding global supply chains become increasingly complex.

“Global supply chains that were once built around economic efficiency are rapidly being reshaped around national security, crisis response and the protection of advanced industries,” said Hwang Soo-hyun, secretary-general of HIMUN and a student majoring in international studies.

Hwang added, “We hope this year’s assembly will provide an opportunity for the international community to explore standards for economic security and ways to cooperate amid geopolitical conflicts and the spread of protectionism.”

Founded in 1958, HIMUN is a university-wide foreign-language academic organization.

Since its inaugural session, which focused on the U.N. disarmament agenda, HIMUN has held an annual mock U.N. General Assembly on major issues facing the international community.

According to the university, participants representing seven countries — South Korea, the U.S., China, Germany, Mexico, Brazil and Saudi Arabia — will attend the mock assembly.

The assembly will follow the “UN4MUN” format, which reflects the actual decision-making process of the United Nations. Participating countries present their respective positions and engage in discussion and negotiation to reach a single resolution.

Unlike conventional Model U.N. conferences, which tend to focus on voting, UN4MUN places greater emphasis on the process of building consensus among participating countries.

Each representative will speak in their country’s language, with interpretation provided into the six official U.N. languages — English, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish and Arabic — as well as Korean.

Experts from the co-organizing institutions served as advisers on the agenda. Three HUFS professors also served as advisers: Choi Won-geun of the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy, Kang Yoo-deok of the Division of Language and Trade and Kim Hyun-woo of the Division of Language and Diplomacy.

This year’s mock U.N. General Assembly will be held as an in-person public event with about 300 attendees. Anyone, regardless of age or educational background, can attend the event free of charge.