Drone security, social justice AI: Korea's young women pitch tomorrow's tech at British Embassy – The Korea JoongAng Daily

British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks, far left, takes a selfie with four female students invited to the British Embassy’s “Ambassador for a Day” program at the ambassador’s residence in Jung District, central Seoul, on Feb. 28. [PARK SANG-MOON]

 
“The greatest challenge that the world faces today is hatred, which labels people and tears them apart,” said Bae Seo-yeon, an 18-year-old Korean Minjok Leadership Academy student, on Friday afternoon. “Hatred is not born out of malice, but from ignorance.”
 
Bae spoke to a crowd of female students, entrepreneurs and diplomats — women with different careers, but a shared goal to make the world safer — at the British ambassador’s residence in central Seoul. 
 
The event was part of the British Embassy in Korea’s “Ambassador for a Day” program, held in connection with International Women’s Day and co-sponsored by the Korea JoongAng Daily, which aims to empower Korean women. Bae was among four students — two high schoolers, two middle schoolers — whom the embassy had handpicked from a pool of 70 applicants to deliver speeches, based on their “firm determination for their dreams.”
 
 
British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks said the program is particularly meaningful in Korea, where women are highly educated but also face the biggest gender pay gap among OECD member states. Crooks noted that part the program’s mission is to raise awareness of this disparity.
 
“The engineering and tech sectors are where women are underrepresented,” Crooks said.
 

British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks, four female students, four technology experts and Rebuilding Korea Party Rep. Lee Hai-min take part in a luncheon at the ambassador’s residence at the British Embassy in Jung District, central Seoul, on Feb. 28. [PARK SANG-MOON]

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Consequently, this year’s event centered on technology-related fields. Four female entrepreneurs from the sector, as well as engineer-turned-politician Rep. Lee Hai-min from the Rebuilding Korea Party, joined the embassy to serve as mentors for the students.
 
Bae, in her speech, suggested that AI could be a “powerful tool” to eliminate subtle but deeply rooted prejudices.
 
She recalled a past incident when one of her male classmates had excluded her from playing sports with the excuse that she was not masculine enough and said the interaction underscored the need for “universal educational AI guidelines,” unswayed by human judgment, that could help counter bias. 
 
Bae said she hoped to harness that drive to further empower minority groups. “I’ve learned that modern technologies related to cybersecurity or AI could be integrated with protecting human rights, women’s rights and LGBTQ rights, and these lessons inspire me to study more deeply.”
 
Lee Han-sol, 15, a Cheongshim International Academy student who dreams of becoming an attorney specialized in cybersecurity, had experienced the field firsthand during a visit to the Defence Cyber Marvel (DCM) in Goyang, Gyeonggi, that morning. The DCM is a military event where British soldiers train to counter potential cyberattacks. 
 
“I learned the dynamics of cyber-operations, with each specialized unit focusing on forensic analysis and threat detection,” Lee said. Those technologies, she said, are critical to keeping societies safe.
 
Han Ji-yeon, the youngest participant, was one of the most confident speakers of the afternoon.
 
Han said she had applied to the program to challenge herself — as a 12-year-old, she has not yet settled on a career path, but is “exploring various experiences.” However, “I am sure I want to be a person who creates a world where everyone can be joyous and happy together,” she told the Korea JoongAng Daily in an interview. 
 
Kwon Min-young, 13, recalled seeing children struggling with poverty during a recent trip to Brazil. Now, she dreams of becoming a humanitarian officer at the United Nations. “I think education can fix and change the inequality faced by marginalized populations, and technology can bring a big influence,” she said during her afternoon address. 
 

Four junior female students invited to the British Embassy’s ″Ambassador for a Day″ program listen to feedback from British Ambassador Colin Crooks, second from left, at his official residence in Jung District, central Seoul, on Feb. 28. [PARK SANG-MOON]

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The speeches were the grand finale to an intense but productive day at the ambassador’s residence, which had begun with a group luncheon followed by one-on-one workshops wherein experienced mentors, including some of Korea’s foremost technology experts, helped the students hone their ideas. 
 
Students pitched, for three to five minutes, ways to address issues such as world hunger, inequality and public safety with technology.
 
Proposals included 3-D printing academic equipment such as chairs, desks and pencils and using drones to scare birds off airport runways for safer landing and takeoff.
 
Josie Daw, 32, a mentor and a British developer, said she gained insights of her own from her mentee’s open-minded and brave thoughts. “Teenage girls are the ones who change the world,” Daw said.
 
Daw characterized the dialogue between mentors and mentees as a valuable opportunity for adults learn about students’ lived experience and vice versa.
 
Rep. Lee Hai-min, a former Google engineer, also vowed to encourage and support the students as they followed in their mentors’ footsteps in an interview with the JoongAng Daily. “It was meaningful to share a consensus that technology and women’s rights are not separate,” the representative said.
 

British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks, far left, and four junior female students who completed the British Embassy’s ″Ambassador for a Day″ program pose for a photograph while holding their certificates at the ambassador’s residence in Jung District, central Seoul, on Feb. 28. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Many students mentioned the workshops as the highlight of the experience in interviews.
 
“My original idea was vague, and my mentor instructed me to make it more ‘realistic’ by showing how I could motivate people to participate in my solution,” said Lee, who believes her mentor’s feedback helped solidify the logic undergirding her proposals.
 
The four students called the experience “valuable” and “once in a lifetime.”
 
“I was really inspired that the mentors and their insights helped me find my own way to be at the top while not losing my integrity and true self,” Bae said. 
 
“Hearing very practical solutions and propositions coming forward from each of you has been inspiring to hear,” Crooks told the four following their speeches. “Korea can be very optimistic about its future.” 

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]