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
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.
Senior 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.
Senior 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.
Junior Editor
Originally from Chicago, Mary Zopf taught English in Busan for over three years before pursuing her Master’s degree at Yonsei GSIS. Coming from a family of educators has shaped her areas of study, which include public health outreach, youth education, and gender and sexuality issues. She is also interested in food history. Her hobbies include baking, cooking, and spending time in nature!
Christy Chan
Junior Media Producer
From Hong Kong, Christy is currently pursuing a Master’s degree at Yonsei GSIS, majoring in International Trade, Finance, and Management. Growing up in a multicultural environment, she has developed a deep interest in exploring diverse local cultures. With a strong passion for media content creation, she aims to produce projects that reflect cultural and social issues, fostering meaningful discussions and cross-cultural understanding.
Christian Ditzler
Editorial Intern
Christian Ditzler is a Swiss graduate student at Yonsei GSIS, specializing in International Trade, Finance, and Management. Before coming to Yonsei, he earned his undergraduate degree in East Asian Studies from the Free University of Berlin and worked at NHK’s Berlin bureau, assisting in the creation of reports on German and European national politics and socio-economic affairs. His main interests include international relations in East Asia and the domestic political and economic developments shaping the region.
Tra My Luu
Media Intern
Tra My is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Global Studies at Yonsei GSIS. As a Vietnamese-Dutch student, she grew up navigating multiple cultures, which inspired her interest in identity, communication, and global belonging. She studied Fashion Management at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute, where she also won Alexander Wang’s design competition. Professionally, she has worked with creative startups in both Seoul and Amsterdam, gaining experience in branding, media, and international business. She is passionate about exploring how culture, business, and identity intersect in today’s interconnected world. Through NOVAsia, she hopes to create media projects that highlight diverse perspectives and spark meaningful conversations on multiculturalism, sustainability, and global trends.
Seoyoon Cho
Media Intern
Seoyoon Cho is a multilingual media professional with over two years of experience in Asia-based digital media, where she produced and edited interview-driven content highlighting diverse cultural and social perspectives. Her work involved managing the full production cycle from research and scripting to editing while ensuring authenticity and audience engagement across global platforms. She expanded her experience by contributing to media production within an international company, further strengthening her cross-cultural communication and storytelling skills. Seoyoon aspires to build a career that bridges audiences through creative media, crafting narratives that foster empathy and understanding in an increasingly interconnected world.
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.