Kim Dong Yeon, the governor 

of the Gyeonggi province — the 

largest province in South Korea — 

presented the 11th annual Sang-Yong 

Nam lecture on democracy at the 

University of Michigan Museum of 

Art Monday afternoon. About 100 

students and Ann Arbor community 

members attended the event, which 

was hosted by the Nam Center for 

Korean Studies along with the Ford 

School of Public Policy.

Kim earned his doctorate from 

the School of Public Policy in 

1993 and has served as a Korean 

government official since 2014. After 

serving as the Minister of Economy 

and Finance and the Deputy Prime 

Minister of the country, Kim took 

office as governor on July 1, 2022. 

The event is also where the Sang-

Yong Nam Award is presented, 

which annually grants $3,000 to 

a graduating senior or a recent 

graduate of the Korean Studies 

program. 
Nam 
Sang-Yong, 
the 

namesake of the Center for Korean 

Studies, was the department’s largest 

benefactor, having donated more 

than $4 million to the program.

In 
an 
interview 
with 
The 

Michigan Daily at the lecture, LSA 

junior Jinny Kim said it was a special 

event because it commemorated 

Nam and his contributions to the 

department.

“I think this event is really big 

because it’s the one time that the 

Nam family comes out to celebrate 

(since) their father’s passing and also 

just what he has done for our center,” 

Jinny Kim said. 

LSA senior Olivia Daniel was 

announced as this year’s recipient 

of the Sang-Yong Nam Award. LSA 

Dean Anne Curzan presented the 

award.

“The Nam Center shares Elder 

Nam’s 
commitment 
to 
create 

important 
connections 
across 

campus and around the world,” 

Curzan said.

In 
her 
acceptance 
speech, 

Daniel spoke about how the center 

facilitated her interest in Korean 

studies and culture. 

“I immersed myself in Korean 

culture through Nam Center events, 

studied abroad at Yonsei University 

and 
presented 
at 
academic 

conferences devoted entirely to 

Korean studies,” Daniel said. “I 

am so grateful that I have been 

able to contribute to this vibrant 

community.” 

Following the award presentation, 

Kim Dong Yeon began his lecture, 

with some parts given in Korean 

and other parts in English. Korean 

literature professor Ryu Youngju 

served as a translator for the Korean 

portions of Kim’s lecture.

Kim 
began 
the 
lecture 
by 

discussing his experiences as a 

Korean student studying in the 

United States at the University 

of Michigan. He said he hoped to 

provide other students from all 

socioeconomic backgrounds in his 

country with the same opportunity. 

Kim recalled visiting a group of 

middle school students who felt 

as 
though 
financial 
limitations 

prevented 
them 
from 
studying 

overseas.

“I asked myself, ‘Okay, I’ve given 

them hope, but would they be able 

to realize their hope if they have a 

dream?’ ” Kim said. “The so-called 

spoon metaphor — being born with 

a silver, golden spoon in your mouth 

— is increasingly characterizing 

Korean society.”

Kim spoke about the “After You” 

Program, which he created during 

his tenure as the president of Ajou 

University in the Gyeonggi province. 

He said the program was intended 

to provide funding for students who 

want to study abroad, but might not 

be able to afford to do so.

For the past two years, the Ann 

Arbor-based nonprofit Live Zero 

Waste has been on a mission to 

promote sustainability through 

its returnable container program 

for 
zero-waste 
takeout. 
The 

program 
allows 
customers 
to 

order carry-out from participating 

restaurants in reusable containers 

instead of disposable packaging. 

After use, customers can return 

the containers to participating 

businesses where the containers 

are then cleaned and reused.

Founded in 2015 by brother-

sister duo and U-M alums Samuel 

and Lydia McMullen, Live Zero 

Waste provides information and 

resources to those interested in 

adopting a zero-waste lifestyle. 

After 
Ann 
Arbor’s 
Office 
of 

Sustainability 
and 
Innovations 

developed a plan for a pilot 

program, Live Zero Waste started 

running the reusable container 

program in February 2021. The 

returnable 
containers 
program 

also contributes to Ann Arbor’s 

A2ZERO 
 
 plan to reach community-

wide carbon neutrality by 2030.

Samuel McMullen told The 

Michigan Daily he believes the 

reusable 
container 
program 

has mostly been successful in 

reducing waste and promoting 

sustainability.

“I think this is a really exciting 

project,” McMullen said. “I think 

for a lot of people … this will be 

the beginning of a conversation 

and the start of a road to larger 

discussions (about sustainability).”

A recent study conducted by 

U-M researchers found that if even 

a small percentage of customers 

make extra car trips to return their 

reusable containers, the program 

could contribute more greenhouse 

gasses to the atmosphere than 

single-use 
containers. 
Because 

Ann Arbor is a walkable city, with 

15% of employees walking to work 

on a daily basis, Samuel McMullen 

said he still believes the program 

may function well without creating 

additional emissions. 

“(We 
have) 
a 
handful 
of 

restaurants 
that 
are 
super 

committed, 
and 
a 
handful 

of 
customers 
that 
are 
super 

committed to doing (the returnable 

containers program), which is 

great,” McMullen said. “It’s a 

really good start and … it’s proof of 

concept for certain things.”

Businesses 
currently 

participating 
in 
the 
program 

include Zingerman’s Deli, Ginger 

Deli, El Harissa and Cinnaholic. 

Samuel 
McMullen 
said 
the 

returnable 
container 
program 

offers consumers a tangible way to 

reduce their carbon footprint.

“One of the places we see a 

lot of waste come up is in food 

packaging, and typically takeout 

packaging,” McMullen said. “The 

program started at a handful 

of restaurants and continues to 

operate at a handful of restaurants 

with no fee for the service to the 

restaurants (and) no fee to the 

consumers.”

Live 
Zero 
Waste 
recently 

partnered with the Environmental 

Consulting Organization at the 

University of Michigan, which has 

been helping with marketing and 

outreach efforts. LSA sophomore 

Gavin 
Lichtenberg, 
a 
project 

manager at ECO-UM, told The 

Daily he was excited to work with 

Live Zero Waste because it aligns 

with his organization’s mission.

“Generally, 
we 
work 

with 
sustainably-oriented 

organizations 
whose 
pillars 

surround sustainability and we 

work to improve their operations,” 

Lichtenberg said. “In that same 

vein, we work with different 

organizations who are looking to 

transition into more sustainable 

practices.”

Yusef Houamed, manager and 

co-founder of El Harissa, told The 

Daily he was excited to participate 

in the program, especially as the 

restaurant continues to bounce 

back 
from 
primarily 
serving 

takeout during the COVID-19 

pandemic.

“During the pandemic, we, 

— and most other restaurants — 

had to double down on our most 

wasteful 
practices,” 
Houamed 

said. “We pivoted to exclusively 

takeout until just recently, and 

so the amount of containers and 

single-use plastics we were using 

skyrocketed … So it was just 

kind of serendipitous that (Live 

Zero Waste) reached out to us; I 

jumped at the opportunity. Now, 

for the past two years, we’ve been 

working on making this a real 

thing, a citywide thing.”

Evelyn 
Patrell-Fazio, 
head 

of 
business 
management 
and 

sustainable development at Ginger 

Deli, told The Daily she believes 

Ann Arbor is an ideal site to pilot 

the program.

2 — Wednesday, April 19, 2023
News

Korean Governor Kim Dong Yeon speaks on democracy

Ann Arbor businesses implement returnable take out program

GOVERNMENT

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

BUSINESS

 UMich hosts Korean Governor Kim Dong Yeon to present annual Sang-Yong 
Nam lecture on democracy

Ann Arbor business owners discuss participating in zero-waste 
takeout program for two years

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SOPHIA AFENDOULIS/Daily

Former Minister of Economy and Finance and former Deputy Prime Minister Dong-yeon Kim talks about his life and public service in 
an event called “Merry Revolt: A Proposal for Twenty-First Century Korea” at the Umma Monday night.

JOSE BRENES/Daily

Attendee’s view art created by the incarcerated LGBTQ+ individuals who are PenPal’s of Black and Pink at the Michigan League Thursday evening. 

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