BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

GLOBAL Korea Scholarship (GKS) 2015 programme scholars have pledged to strengthen relations between the two countries.

The pledge was taken by three Bruneians who will be flying to further their studies in South Korea next week on the sidelines of their orientation ceremony at the Korean Embassy.

The three students are Renzo Lee Seck Chun, Meilisha Shahfrie and Hazirah Suhaillah Abdullah.

Renzo Lee will do Masters in Accounting and Taxation at Kyunghee University and Yeungnam University; Meilisha will pursue Masters in Southeast Asian Studies at Sogang University and Keimyung University; and Hazirah will pursue a PhD in Anthropology from the Seoul National University.

In an interview with The Brunei Times, Renzo Lee said that during his stay in Korea he wants to learn about the blooming and mature economies of China, Japan and South Korea.

“I want to study there to learn how they manage their economy and finance. I also want to cover taxation because I believe in future Brunei may implement taxes and I believe that is where my knowledge can hopefully be fruitful,” he said.

“I was sent to South Korea by University Brunei Darussalam (UBD) earlier which has helped me to know the country. I feel it will be easier for me to focus on my study.”

Meilisha, who took Brunei Studies for her degree at UBD, said she chose South Korea to do her Masters because she felt the country would be more fitting.

“For Southeast Asian Studies because I think it is better to choose a university with an Asian background rather than go to a university in the West because the concepts and theories may differ,” the 24-year-old said.

PhD Anthropology candidate Hazirah, who did her degree in the United Kingdom and Masters in Australia, said she wants to contribute to academic literatures on Southeast Asia and South Korea.

“I chose to go to South Korea because I believe they (the South Korean universities) are interested in it, so why not I go there and contribute to their research and build the academic research,” the 26-year-old said.

The three students will fly on August 25.

The Brunei Times