The success of a nation belongs to the responsible and diligent performance of the institutions that constitute it.

Guided by this principle, Professor Joo-Hoon Kim arranged a great opportunity for international students from FMBA, allowing them to visit one of the most important institutions in Korea, the Bank of Korea (BOK).

On the morning of October 20th, the institution opened its doors for the international students with a guided tour through the BOK Money Museum. In this cultural space, the students were introduced to the history of the currency culture with the purpose of understanding the importance of price stabilization in the path of a nation’s development. With a presentation of approximately 4,500 kinds of well-preserved international and domestic currencies and documents, the museum aimed to explain the background and purpose of the establishment of the Bank of Korea and the importance that money policy has for an economy.

To complement and magnify the knowledge acquired by the students, a special lecture was organized right after their visit to the museum. Guided by Sokwon Kim, Director of the Monetary Policy Research Division, the students carefully reviewed the monetary policy framework applied in Korea including policy objectives, inflation targeting, and other decision and communication instruments that help shaping the economy according to national growth guidelines.  Additionally, the students could revise the monetary policy applied in the country since the Great Recession, including actions through the reduction of the BOK Base Rate, liquidity provisions for financial markets, and the stabilization of foreign exchange and currency funding markets. To conclude this special session, the expert presented some recent macroeconomic issues like the actual household debt, the US monetary policy normalization and the dynamics of inflation and economic growth.

To close this great experience, a dinner hosted by BOK successfully rounded out this cultural and educational tour. With the company of BOK officers and with the pleasure of being delighted with a delicious dinner, the students returned home with one more experience and opportunity that only KAIST has been able to offer them.