Professor Sunmee Choi, Dean of College of Business & Management

“I’m a traveler. I have traveled to over 87 countries so far. My goal is to hit 100 countries soon!” said Professor Sunmee Choi, Dean of the College of Business and Management. Professor Sunmee is a Korean who has traveled the world in pursuit of knowledge, self-exploration, and most importantly, different cultures and different people. In an interview with the “Meet VinUnians” project, she shared her passion for discovering  new cultures and meeting people through her travels, as well as her innovative approach to business education at VinUni.

Graduating from Yonsei university with a degree in English Literature, Professor Choi soon realized that she was a misfit for the major. Fortunately, upon graduation, she was introduced to the hospitality industry, worked at a Sheraton Hotel in Seoul, Korea, and quickly developed a liking for the profession. From that point on, hospitality management has become an inseparable part of her life. The first few years of her career were spent in the corporate world, working for prestigious hospitality companies such as Sheraton, Hilton, Hyatt, and Priceline.com. She also received her Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Hospitality Management from Cornell University. Upon completing her Ph.D., her life took a turn for the better as she delved into the world of academia.

“In academia, you get paid for doing what you love, and everything you do bears your name on it. On the other hand, in the corporate world, your accomplishments are the company’s accomplishments and you don’t see your name anywhere. Of course, being able to contribute to the success of a company is a rewarding experience, hence my staying in the industry for so long; but the motivation in academia is much more intrinsic because it is your students, your research, your college that you’re attending to,” Professor Sunmee explained her decision for making the switch from industry work to academia. Additionally, she underscored the significance of being able to create great impact on the world through high-quality education for young talents. “I am very fortunate to have worked at well-established institutions such as Cornell University, Penn State University, Yonsei University, ESSEC Business School and VinUniversity, whose students are among the smartest and brightest in the country. These young people will grow to become inspiring leaders who can substantially contribute to the development of society; therefore, to create impact on them is to create impact on the world. This makes my job all the more meaningful and rewarding.”

Besides her love for hospitality and education, Professor Choi is also an avid traveler.

“When visiting a new city or country, I don’t necessarily go to tourist destinations but prefer to live like locals and have the most authentic local experience. Usually, I like to walk around the town to try out local services, visit local markets, and hop on a bus just to get off at any random stop and explore that area. I love talking to local people as well.  If I were in a city for one week, I would have made friends with shop owners, employees of the hotels and restaurant, and other tourists I met during the visit. That’s why my friends are from all around the world from various professions from a foot massage lady to a business executive. Traveling refreshes and energizes me because I get to observe the uniqueness in the way people look, think, and act. Being a very curious and detail-oriented person that I am, to comprehend all that diversity in real life is extremely stimulating.”

Professor Choi highlights the essence of practical real-world exposure in shaping students’ perspectives, mindsets and attitudes, and strongly encourages her students to take up traveling as a way to better understand their inner self. She believes that the collective experience accumulated from traveling allows a young person to reinforce 3 essential characteristics: openness, flexibility, and creativity. “The insights gained from all the traveling, interactions, and connections will naturally help you be more open and accepting of others. Flexibility is actually any traveler’s must-have quality because there are so many unexpected things that can happen while visiting a new place that you have little understanding or knowledge of. You need to learn to solve problems and adapt very swiftly to situations. For creativity, you will get to see and feel a vast range of activities, traditions, and practices that can effectively enrich your idea reservoir and allow you to draw very creative and innovative inspirations,” Professor Choi explained. She also suggested that young people should go extra miles to visit less advanced countries and experience for themselves the rawer, less polished corners of their cultures.

“Oftentimes, people are reluctant to travel to a country, especially less developed ones, because of the stigma the media attaches to it, but I would ask that you not listen to the secondary sources, and rather go and experience it for yourself. The experience will help you to discover yourself. You will be surprised by the extent to which your boundaries can stretch while being put in different unexpected situations. And, in many cases, you can even find a new passion!”

Having said that, Professor Sunmee Choi acknowledged many young people’s difficulty in effectively navigating and utilizing the resources around them. A case in point is Korean higher education – a system that she has had much experience with. Professor Choi pointed out that a notable portion of Yonsei students struggle to cope with the fast-paced, highly competitive environment within and beyond university despite being very intelligent and hardworking. This is due to the lack of solid support systems in large tertiary education institutions in Korea. For VinUni, the experience will be much different.

“VinUni is different because we have only 75 CBM students in the first batch, whereas, at Yonsei Business School, the number is 330 per batch. The small student body allows us to foster a very close-knit and supportive community wherein everyone cares about our students and students can comfortably reach out to faculty for individual support and guidance. Furthermore, there are abundant academic and industry opportunities for students to reach out to. I would say that our students are having the most remarkable experience that no other university in the world can offer, particularly in this COVID time.”

A people lover, a world traveler, and a firm believer in young generations’ ability to alter the course of humanity, Professor Sunmee Choi has dedicated her life to serving the ultimate purpose of bringing meaning to people’s lives, whether that be in work, study, or personal affairs. And she shall continue this life-long quest at VinUni and beyond.