Guiding My Friends Through Korea’s Next-Generation Leadership Landscape
Jay Choi ’27, who was based in Seoul during his military service, drew on his personal and professional connections to the city while bringing a group of Yale SOM peers to the Asian Leadership Conference.
In May, just before settling into my summer internship at Amazon, I had the distinct privilege of traveling to South Korea for the Asian Leadership Conference with a fantastic group from our Yale SOM community. Zachary Hughes ’27, Anqi Zhao ’27, Jacob Chang ’27, Ari Kanner ’27, and Ari’s partner Haleigh Welch joined me for what evolved into an unforgettable exploration of global business, elite leadership, and deep personal heritage.
The Asian Leadership Conference (ALC) is an annual forum that brings heads of state, CEOs, policymakers, and cultural figures together in Seoul to wrestle with the world’s most pressing issues. Having attended the conference multiple times, I’ve been able to witness the birth of the Global Student Startup Competition (GSSC), where university teams from around the world pitch human-centered AI ventures. This year, I wanted to share the ALC experience with my MBA mates—so I put together a small cohort of classmates for a 10-day trip.
We found ourselves conversing with world-class leaders across a wide range of industries, from the financier James Rothschild to Ejae, a singer who starred in the movie K-Pop Demon Hunters. The networking opportunities in that environment were truly unparalleled. One night, Zach ended up spontaneously grabbing drinks with former congressmen, proof of the incredible doors that open when you position yourself in rooms with global decision-makers. The moment you walk into the conference, you plug into a global network pipeline. Thanks to the Korean American Cultural Foundation’s sponsoring a networking night right after the close of ALC, many dozens of trailblazers gathered for a valuable worlds-colliding moment in Itaewon.
But the most lasting part wasn’t a single introduction; it was what those conversations added up to. Two particular ideas stuck with me as lessons to bring back to campus. The first is how quickly the next generation is building human-centered AI ventures. The GSSC teams weren’t chasing technology for its own sake; they were solving real human problems across very different markets. Watching them pitch reset my sense of what “early-stage” ventures can look like globally. The second is a leadership lesson in scale: Sitting close to people who run organizations of enormous size, you notice they think less about individual decisions and more about the systems, incentives, and people that make thousands of good decisions possible.
Moreover, this trip was a personal one for me. I’m Korean American, and Korea is where I did my military service in the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA), living at the Yongsan base in Seoul. Guiding my classmates through the vibrant streets of Seoul and the beautiful coastal city of Busan let me share a real piece of home.
In Seoul, we wandered Itaewon’s endless food streets; lingered over Korean barbecue; spent time around most “hype places,” or trendy neighborhoods; and took in the city’s mix of centuries-old palaces and hyper-modern districts. Then we headed south and had an absolute blast by the sea in Busan. We took in the painted hillside alleys of Gamcheon Culture Village, the early-morning bustle of the Jagalchi fish market, and an afternoon out on the water off Gwangalli Beach. Watching my friends absorb the sights, history, and food of both cities was as rewarding as anything I’d planned.
One of the most meaningful aspects of the journey was sharing my military background with my Yale peers. We took a civilian tour of the demilitarized zone between South and North Korea—a heavily guarded border I had previously visited under very different circumstances during my own service. We also spent time near Yongsan, the base where I once lived and served. Merging my past military life and my present academic journey at Yale SOM was a uniquely powerful, almost surreal experience. It felt like my two worlds were finally colliding, in the best way possible.
This entire experience reinforced the intrinsic value of the Yale SOM community. We are doing far more than learning together in New Haven; we are actively stepping out into the world, engaging with global leaders, and building deep, lasting connections across borders. I am incredibly grateful to have shared this adventure with Zachary, Anqi, Jacob, Ari, and Haleigh, and I look forward to bringing these global perspectives—a sharper read on human-centered AI and on how great leaders operate at scale—back to campus.
