Interview • Portraits • La Chambre

France Korea Next Generation Season 2 #3 | Narae, Cassandra & Seonkyung's journeys between France and Korea

Le 25/11/2022

Discover young French and Korean professionals’ paths with the second season of FKCCI’s video series “France Korea Next Generation”!

The French-Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry is pleased to present the second season of its video series "France Korea Next Generation", in partnership with the French Embassy in Korea!

France and Korea are long-time economic partners. In 1886, they first established economic relations through the signature of a treaty of Friendship and Commerce. In the 1960s, these ties reinforced with steadily increasing trade activities and the opening of French companies’ first branches in Seoul. More recently in 2021, bilateral trade exceeded the €10 Bn milestone for the first time.

Made possible by countless French and Koreans before, this special relationship is now in the hands of young professionals ready to take up the torch and work on continuing to bring both countries together.

To celebrate this new generation and encourage the one to come, the French-Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry went to meet young French and Korean professionals, and asked about their path between France and Korea, their bond to their host country, and their advice to those wishing to follow in their footsteps.

Be ready to get inspired!

Narae SHIN

Narae Shin is currently working as HR Manager at Mazars, a French company in South Korea. She lived in France for 8 years. She obtained a master’s degree in educational technology as being highly interested in human resource development (HRD). She served her first internship at UNESCO headquarters, located in Paris, France. After coming back to Korea, she worked on the HRD project for foreign investors at KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency). She is now working at Mazars Korea, a French accounting firm, as a HR Generalist & Communication Manager, while supporting French and foreign companies doing business in Korea.

Cassandra GARCIA

Cassandra, 31 years old, specialized early in the cosmetics industry through various internships in France. Having taken an interest in the Korean beauty market during these first professional experiences, she learnt Korean and flew to Seoul in 2018 for a 1-year-long Working Holiday Visa, that later led to her first local contract as a Beauty Product Development Manager. A resident of Korea for close to 5 years, she works fully in Korean and appreciates being able to learn from the fast-paced environment of domestic companies.

Seonkyung KIM

Seonkyung Kim is currently a Policy Officer at the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Korea. She is dedicated to enhancing the relations between Korea and the EU, and works on issues related to foreign policy, domestic politics and human rights. Previously she worked as a research associate at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, and served as a South Korean Delegate for the G20 Germany 2017 Youth 20 Dialogue in Berlin. She lived in France from 2013 to 2015, where she studied international security at Sciences Po, Paris. During her time in France, she particularly enjoyed a wide range of opportunities offered to international students. She was awarded the Blaise Pascal Scholarship of Excellence in 2013.