UT Austin Korea Alumni Association to hold grand reunion Friday

The UT Austin Korea Alumni Association (UTAKA) announced Wednesday that it will hold the "2026 UTAKA Grand Reunion" at the Andaz Seoul Gangnam in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, at 6 p.m. Friday.

The event is designed to bring together Korean alumni who studied at the University of Texas at Austin from the 1970s through the 2020s, connecting generations and fields. Alumni active in academia, business, public policy, technology, media, and the arts and culture sectors are expected to attend, along with their families, invited guests and university officials.

According to UTAKA, based on data released by UT Austin Global, more than 3,000 alumni reside in South Korea. Over the past decade, more than 1,000 students from South Korea have studied at the university, and more than 75 faculty members have participated in Korea-related research and creative projects.

Austin, Texas, is a major US hub for AI, semiconductor and advanced technology industries.

Among Korean companies, Samsung Electronics has operated semiconductor production facilities in Austin since entering the city in 1996, steadily expanding its ties with the local industrial ecosystem.

The company has also partnered with UT Austin on semiconductor talent development, research and education. The university has said that Samsung Electronics and its US semiconductor subsidiary Samsung Austin Semiconductor have invested about $6 million in the school since 2023, supporting research, student aid, capstone projects and related facilities.

Backed by that support, UT Austin was selected this year as the southern anchor institution for the National Network for Microelectronics Education (NNME), a national initiative to expand the US semiconductor workforce.

"As Korean companies expand into Texas and UT Austin's research and talent-development capabilities align with that growth, the connection between Austin and Korea is evolving beyond simple alumni networking into an industrial, research and talent network," UTAKA said.

In April, Seoul hosted the first Texas Global Alumni Summit, UT Austin's inaugural global alumni gathering. More than 120 alumni, university officials, faculty and partners from 19 countries across five continents attended, exchanging ideas on topics including semiconductors, energy, healthcare, international education and Korean culture.

Through the Grand Reunion, UTAKA plans to carry forward the connections formed at the Seoul summit into the broader Korean alumni community and reconnect senior and junior alumni who had lost touch over the years.

Kim Kyung-il, a psychology professor at Ajou University, will receive this year's Alumni of the Year award. Last year, Koo Ja-kyun, chairman of LS Electric, was named the inaugural recipient.

"This event is meaningful not for its format or scale, but for bringing together alumni from different eras of UT Austin to rebuild relationships and connect with the next generation," a UTAKA official said.