Junyoung Jong

Linked in URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/junyoung-jong-a31286277/

5. Managed humanitarian assistance projects for Ukraine

Born in Korea and raised in the United States during my formative years, I always assumed my professional life would oscillate between the two poles of Southeast Asia and the West. But after I graduated from Korea University with a degree in computer science and engineering, I found myself in Eygpt, as an ICT consultant in charge of data management and database operations on a project funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). While in Cairo, my team was tasked with designing an electronic patent administration system for local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). My job was to develop solutions to transform paper-based intellectual property materials into structured data and provide management consultancy on data analysis on the patents and trademarks of the local SMEs. Returning to Korea, I signed on as an ICT Consultant with KOICA, providing technical support and guidance across a portfolio of development initiatives. I subsequently assumed roles of increasing responsibility, such as Deputy Director and Division Manager. In these capacities, I directly oversaw diverse projects spanning sectors like digital, energy, agriculture, healthcare, and education delivered across countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

From 2020 to 2021, I served as deputy country director in Iraq, Baghdad, where I was in charge of all Korean development projects conducted by the Korean government. Since 2022, I have served as an assistant manager in KOICA HQ’s Digital Transformation team, where my role involved transforming raw and intricate data into clear and insightful visual representations using tools like Tableau, Power BI, and custom dashboards. From 2023, I was promoted to Manager of humanitarian assistance and multilateral cooperations department and have managed bilateral ODA projects for Ukraine.

Throughout my career, dealing with various log data, I’ve repeatedly encountered the limitations of existing methodologies and knowledge for processing, understanding, and analyzing large data sets. This realization sparked an ambition within me to deepen my expertise in data analytics. I am driven by the conviction that with advanced skills and insights into data processing, I can significantly contribute to establishing data-based policymaking and strategic methodologies within the field of development cooperation in Korea.

One of the projects I’ve been involved with, ‘Building a Digital ODA Integrated Framework,’ aimed to analyze data from all KOICA digital projects over the past five years to measure the overall development performance of KOICA and to predict current trends and prospects. However, during this project, I perceived a gap in our research, particularly in forecasting and policy reflection measures. This experience not only highlighted the need for robust analytical methodologies but also inspired my proposed research direction. Pursuing a master’s degree is a critical step for me to fill this gap. My goal is to continue this line of research, developing a more predictive and policy-informative framework that can guide future digital development initiatives.