My name is Bogyung Hwang and I grew up in South Korea. I left when I was ten years old and lived in different anglophone countries, including Singapore, New Zealand, and England, before arriving in France at the age of 16. I enrolled in the French system from high school (OIB), then entered Sciences Po through the competitive national procedure on the Paris campus. I thoroughly enjoyed studying social sciences during my bachelor’s degree, but I wanted to explore more concrete tools society has to regulate human behavior, which led me to pursue law at the Sciences Po Law School. I was immediately drawn to international dispute resolution, as I had always mediated cultural, linguistic, and academic differences within myself. The idea of resolving conflicts between parties from different horizons, legal cultures, and backgrounds seemed naturally aligned with my own disposition. At the same time, as a foreigner in Paris, I wanted to equip myself with action-oriented skills, which led me to choose the Economic Litigation and Arbitration specialisation.

This specialisation thoroughly prepared me for my professional ambitions, as it was highly practical: weekly written submissions to professors, a strong emphasis on teamwork, and in-depth analysis of real-life cases. It gave me the tools to think and write like a litigation lawyer, to master civil procedure, and to understand the strategy behind a successful defense.

After Sciences Po, I sat for and passed the CRFPA exams, then pursued an LL.M. at the University of Cambridge. There, I was able to obtain an in-depth understanding of common law and I was able to write a Master’s thesis on the role of Private International Law in decolonisation. After the LL.M., I returned to Paris and completed an alternance, followed by my stage final at White & Case in the international arbitration team. With a team of over 70 people representing 35 different nationalities, it was an incredibly diverse environment, bringing together lawyers from various backgrounds and legal traditions. It was the perfect place to apply and deepen my academic training in both common and civil law jurisdictions. I was able to showcase my knowledge of French civil procedure, international law theories, and English law on financial transactions, and even contribute through Korean translations. The experience gave me ample opportunities to learn about commercial arbitration, investment arbitration, and construction disputes. It also challenged me personally, pushing me to work under high pressure and long hours while balancing personal commitments. At the end of my 9 months traineeship, I was fortunate enough to be offered an associate position within the team. 

My plan for the next five years is to grow as an associate at White & Case, handling complex cases that require language skills, cross-jurisdictional expertise, and intellectual flexibility. I also want to continue serving as a bridge between France and Korea, or more broadly, Europe and Korea, building on my experience as President of the Korean Society at Sciences Po during my final year. At the same time, my ongoing search for identity, and for mental and physical balance remains a priority, as I have learned that maintaining a healthy, disciplined lifestyle can be more challenging than embracing the intensity of a law-firm life. 

My memories of Sciences Po Law School are among the highlights of my twenties. Despite an intense schedule of 11 to 13 classes per week, what stays with me most are the people: late-night Zoom calls at 3 a.m., dinners at St. Thomas, bar crawls after work during the gap year, and familiar faces in the front row at conferences I organised. I am deeply grateful to the friends and faculty who supported me through the most difficult period of my life. I still recall being embraced in the library as I studied bankruptcy law with tears streaming down my face, the long conversations with friends who never hesitated to call me in the middle of the night, and the firm warmth of Julie Babin d’Amonville when she invited me to her office to ask about my well-being. Sciences Po was always a place that combined humanity with academic excellence, and I am profoundly grateful to carry that with me.