Eun Mee Kim, President of Ewha Womans University, holding the letter of designation as the UN Women National Goodwill Ambassador for the Republic of Korea. Photo: UN Women/Chanyoung Park

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Seoul, Republic of Korea — Eun Mee Kim, PhD, the President of Ewha Womans University, has been appointed as a National Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women in the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea).

Kim has been a trailblazer in the field of international development studies, dedicating her research efforts to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. During her tenure as a professor at various prestigious institutions, including the University of Southern California, Brown University, Harvard University, and Ewha Womans University, she has paid special attention to the situation and rights of women and girls, especially in developing countries.

Inside Korea, Kim has played a crucial role in laying the foundation for Korea's Official Development Assistance (ODA) system as a senior policy advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 10 years and the President of the Korea Association of International Development and Cooperation in 2011 and 2012. As a member of the Committee for International Development Cooperation under the Prime Minister’s Office, the Policy Advisory Committee for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, she also advocated for the integration of gender perspectives into ODA programmes and promoted efforts to enhance Korea’s contribution to women and girls through international development cooperation. She was appointed as the Vice-Chairperson of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO in May 2021, and the Chairperson of the 5th Science and Technology Basic Plan (2023-2027) Committee in December 2021.

She has contributed to the global sustainable development agenda, having been appointed by the UN Secretary-General in 2016 to serve as one of the fifteen members of the Independent Group of Scientists to work on the Global Sustainable Development Report 2019. This report was presented to the UN Secretary-General and heads of member states at the UN General Assembly in September 2019. In preparing for the report, she emphasized the urgency of addressing inequalities, especially gender inequality, in achieving the SDGs. In 2022, she co-authored a research paper on the member states’ Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) and advocated for the need to push for the entirety of the holistic gender equality agenda to realize gender equality and women’s empowerment in practice.

Kim has also undertaken various initiatives to help strengthen the capacities of women from developing countries. As the Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha Womans University, she opened the Ewha-KOICA International Studies Master's Degree Program in 2007, which benefited over 340 women from developing countries. As the director of the Ewha Global Health Institute for Girls and Women at Ewha Medical Center, she also conducted various research on health issues of women and girls in developing countries and analysed the health status of women and girls in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from a gender perspective. In 2020, she also developed a comprehensive gender-sensitive health matrix to refine the abstract concept of gender-sensitivity in health research.

With her outstanding expertise in international development cooperation, Kim will engage in various UN Women events in Korea to raise awareness of UN Women's key areas of work, such as women's economic empowerment; ending violence against women; women, peace and security; and climate change.

"It is a pleasure to welcome Eun Mee Kim as our first National Goodwill Ambassador for the Republic of Korea," said Alia El-Yassir, UN Women Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. "As UN Women expands its partnership with the Republic of Korea through our Centre of Excellence in Seoul, we are excited to work together with Eun Mee Kim to advance national efforts on gender equality and women's empowerment."

"It is an honour to be UN Women's first National Goodwill Ambassador for the Republic of Korea," said Kim. "I believe achieving gender equality and empowerment of women and girls is absolutely critical for creating a better future for everyone. I am a firm believer in international cooperation, and I am ready to support whatever is necessary to help achieve UN Women's mandate in Korea and beyond."

Established in 2010, UN Women is the UN organization delivering programmes, policies and standards that uphold women’s human rights and ensure that every woman and girl lives up to her full potential. In the Republic of Korea, the Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality was established in 2022.

UN Women's Goodwill Ambassadors are renowned individuals selected from various fields, who have voluntarily lent their names, talents and time to support UN programmes. Global Goodwill Ambassadors include public figures such as Anne Hathaway, Nicole Kidman, and Emma Watson.