A space for mutual exchange and intellectual communication between undergraduate students and graduate students in the International Relations Major.

How much do you know about the International Relations Major?

To the students who have taken International Relations introductory courses, attended the orientation, and finally chose International Relations as the their major, what do you think you will learn in the International Relations Major, what kind of lives do you think the Major students lead, and what kind of career paths graduates take on?

International Relations Major studies small group IR Concert is a group for International Relations students who have chosen the Major because they truly love and are interested in the Major and International Relations studies. Being a part of a Major in an institution is not simply a matter of acquiring knowledge or a degree. It is possible, if one attends International Relations courses attentively and masters the related readings, for students to gain sufficient knowledge but not to share the school of thought and an exquisite mind. In addition, if all that the student accomplishes is a degree without enough interactions with International Relations colleagues, the student will not have experienced the true extent of the Major.

I.R. Concert has been launched in the March of 2002 as an alternative to the overall diminishing of academic communities and the trend towards non-academic issues in the few communities that still do exist. Consisting of International Relations Major undergraduates, graduates, and alumni, the IR Concert has a total number of over 30 members. IR stands for “International Relations.” It is a “Concert” because it is a space where anyone can explore and share their ideas and talents openly, not a restricted and uncomfortable setting. In addition, International Relations studies refer to “concert” when describing a system that has been solidly rooted and settled. Thus, for the above reasons, we have decided to name the event an “IR Concert.”

IR Concert organizes a course-pack and provides a seminar during the break. Until now, there has been various seminars organized, ranging from International Political Theory seminar in 2002 summer, Dongju seminar in 2002 winter, Standard of Civilization seminar in 2003 summer, and Korean International Politics seminar in 2003 winter. Especially, since the change into a faculty system in 2003, the pre-concert was held in January-February 2003 and January-February 2004 for International Relations second year students and students expected to choose a major, in an effort to arrange a space for interacting and exchanging information with each other. Not only that, the IR Concert aims to actively participate in academic events to become not only a space for intellectual exchange, but also mutual interaction.