Our Story
In the Spring of 2008, students at Yonsei Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), a leader of international higher education in South Korea, published the first edition of NOVAsia. Initiated by graduate students and under the guidance of the former dean, Professor Lee Chung-min, NOVAsia was born from a desire to translate the work and expertise of GSIS students and professors into a public product.
Our content has covered every continent and spanned from unsettled historical issues to predicting the effects of AI and weapons systems into the future. While NOVAsia covers current crises and developments across the globe, our focus remains close to home in East Asia.
After thirty-one issues, the print magazine went online in order to reach a wider audience and to encourage deeper and more diverse engagement and dialogue.
NOVAsia now aims to be a platform for student voices in the conversation on global affairs.
Meet the Team
Editor-in-Chief & Media Director
Born in the Netherlands, Bastiaan has been living back and forth between Korea and the Netherlands. He is currently pursuing a MA degree in Korean Studies after finishing his BA in History and Korean Studies at Erasmus University and Leiden University. Truly in-between and culturally fluent, Bastiaan has been working on bridging the gap between East and West by writing and talking about complex social issues in various contexts. His current areas of interest are the intersection of nationalism and citizenship in the Korean context but with a broad interdisciplinary background and a comparative mindset, he hopes to inspire critical thinking about all that feels too comfortable.
Senior Editor
Bunly Ek is currently pursuing a Master in International Cooperation and East Asia at Yonsei University as a 2022 Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) recipient from Cambodia. Currently, he is a Research Fellow at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP) in Cambodia. Prior to arriving in Korea, he served as a personal assistant to the former Executive Director of CICP, who had previously been Cambodia’s Ambassador to Japan. His publication and research focus on East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the US–China relations which can be found in the Korea Times, the Phnom Penh Post, Cambodianess, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Stratsea, and CICP.
Senior Media Producer
Born in China, Xinpei is a graduate student at Yonsei GSIS currently pursuing a master’s degree in global studies. Her interest in independent media has motivated her to become an influencer on Chinese media platforms. After coming to Yonsei, Xinpei is determined to learn more about journalism and international communication, trying to figure out the essence of issues by hearing different voices. Also, she really hopes to become an outstanding hip-hop dancer one day.
Senior Media Producer
Fountine Zhao is currently a graduate student at Yonsei GSIS majoring in International Trade, Finance, and Management. She received a double bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Drama from the University of California, Irvine. As a jack of many trades, she has a diverse working background in documentary film distribution, social media content production, event management, education, tourism, and public health. She hopes to use her diverse skillset and experience to create media projects exploring her Yonsei peers’ perspectives on various socio-cultural subjects in South Korea.
Junior Media Producer
Ko is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Global Studies at Yonsei GSIS. With a diverse background and interests in international development and cooperation, education, and organizing events with a global focus, she is passionate about making a positive impact locally and globally. She hopes to create media projects that explore key issues in the world and spark meaningful conversations.
Junior Editor
Born and raised in Bangladesh, Sadia Masharuf is a graduate student at Yonsei GSIS, majoring in Global Studies. Driven by the passion to learn and understand the people of this world through evidence-based deduction, she studied Anthropology for her undergraduate degree. After graduating she worked with Oxfam, Humanity and Inclusion; and Cordaid, focusing on project evaluation and reporting. She came to Yonsei University as a 2023 Global Korea Scholarship student to pursue her masters studies. Her areas of interest include sustainability, energy-environment nexus, climate change, migration and refugee issues.
Disclaimer: NOVAsia is funded through scholarship grants from the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) at Yonsei University. Beyond financial support, GSIS does not have any editorial influence over the content of this website. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any opinions expressed on this website belong solely to the authors and do not represent the official position of GSIS, Yonsei University, or its affiliated institutions.