The University of Utah Asia Campus held the “2022 Alumni Banquet” event at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 1st. After a 3-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 7th Korean Alumni Association event was designed to strengthen exchange and solidarity and achieve friendship and harmony.

Hosting the lovely national park-themed dinner was special guest speaker Chambo, a popular TikToker and content creator with over 500K TikTok followers and about 300K YouTube subscribers. His bright personality and humor filled the room, entertaining more than 200 alums, students, and faculty members who attended this event.

“It was an honor to host the University of Utah Alumni Banquet event. The U of U community has a level of passion that is contagious to the community. I am excited to see the growth of the alumni community across Korea and the globe,” guest speaker Chambo says.

Especially Brian Gibson, the Chief Global Officer, Kris Bosman, the Chief Alumni Relations Officer, Juan Carlos Negrette, the Director of Global Health, Sarah Projansky, the Associate Vice President for Faculty, and Kent Ono, the Professor and Department Liaison for the Department of Communications from the Salt Lake City campus were invited to the event.

Gregory Cash Hill, the Chief Administrative Officer of the University of Utah Asia Campus, said, “Through the alumni network, we will realize the amazing growth and change of the two campuses in Korea and the United States. We hope that exchanges will help each other as members of the united Utah family.”

The Korean Alumni Association was founded in the mid-1970s by the chairman of Kyungbang Limited, Mr. Kim Gak-Jung, the honorary president of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI).

James Park, the Director of External Relations and Alumni Relations, stated, “With the inauguration ceremony of the 4th President Yong-Kiel Sung(Class of 78, Material Science), a distinguished professor at Dongguk University, we successfully revitalized the University of Utah Korean Alumni Association(UUKAA) with many prominent alumni. I hope our notable Korean alumni will present us with an excellent opportunity to build a foundation of support to be a successful foreign university in Korea.”

The Korean Alumni Association includes over 2000 University of Utah alums and friends in Korea and hosts events such as the 2022 Alumni Banquet to allow members of the University of Utah faculty, students, and alums to foster lifelong connections through networking and opportunities provided.

The purpose of the Korean Alumni Association Event is to introduce what the University of Utah Asia Campus provides networking opportunities, sharing status, donating scholarships, and, most importantly, sharing a meal with fellow Utah members.