On the December 5^th, 2007, two Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the University of Turin (hereafter, UNITO) and the Ewha Womans University (hereafter, EWU) in Seoul, Korea, have been signed. The first one is a framework agreement which governs for the next 5 years all present and future collaborations between the two universities, while the second one is a specific agreement between the Faculty of Science at the UNITO and the College of Engineering of EWU, which regulates the mutual exchange between students and professors. The two agreements have been signed at the presence of the Korean university President, Prof. Bae-Yong Lee, of the Italian Embassador in Korea, Massimo Andrea Leggeri, and of the General Director of the Bureau of Information and Technology, dr. Yun-Ang Chung. The Rector of the UNITO, Prof. Ezio Pelizzetti, has sent a video message showing his signing of agreements, which was shown before the signature ceremony. 

The EWU is the most prestigious Women university and, generally, one of the most famous and popular in Korea (I will remember here that, in Korea, universities are classified according to their rank). It was founded in 1886 by the American Methodist missionary Mary F. Scranton, who opened a school of education for Korean women in Seoul, in the place where now the campus is standing (it is still visible the first building in which the first classes were held). The first year there was one student, hence the origin of the name Womans, to be intended as Woman's. The mission of Mrs. Scranton, ambitious, succeeded and allowed the Korean women to begin to overcome the discrimination against men, typical of the Confucian society at the end of 1800. Despite the public men were contrary to this initiative, Emperor Kojong sustained it and called the school "Ewha" (이화 in Korean), which means "pear flower", then giving it an institutional character. This university, during the years, developed increasingly, even during the Japanese domination, to become a focal point of university in the country.

A detailed list of Colleges and Faculties at UNITO and EWU can be found below, as well as a summary table showing the degree courses of 1^st and 2^nd (Master) level, and PhD for both Faculty of Sciences of UNITO and College of Engineering of EWU. It should also be noted that there are some annual scholarships provided by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs to carry out training activities abroad  (information on this website, in Italian).

The event has been organized by the Science and Technology Office of the Italian Embassy in Korea (specifically from the scientific attaché dr. Antonino Tata), by the Italian Cultural Institute in Seoul led by dr. Izzo, by the UNITO and by the Severe Storm Research Center of EWU, in order to share experiences and methods that could create synergies between the two Countries, that are certainly different, but that have common problems, such as, for example, the coast saving, and to conduct a series of annual meetings in alternate years in the two Countries.

The speakers invited from Italy have been Dr. Antonello Pasini, from the Institute of Atmospheric Pollution of CNR (National Research Council) and Prof. Claudio Cassardo, professor of Meteorology and of Physics of Climate at the UNITO. The Koreans speakers have been: Dr. Yung-Ang Chung, General Director of the "Climate and Information Bureau of the Korea Meteorological Administration", Prof. Seon-Ki Park, Director of the SSRC of EWU, and the Prof. Rokjiin J. Park and Prof. Hoi Chang Ho from Seoul National University.

The President of EWU, Prof. Bae-Yong Lee, has opened the Seminar with a welcome message in which she has expressed her satisfaction with the organization of an event that has proposed the debate on an issue of growing importance, not only for the inner character of emergency, but also for the cultural and social reflections that proposes on the new relation among man and environment. The seminar, Prof. Lee has continued, is a valuable opportunity for the deepening of the phenomenon of climate change and for a definition of the best methods and models useful to assess the future effects of global changes. She has also stressed the importance of the signature of the MoU with the University of Turin, in order to expand the opportunities for studying abroad for the two universities.

The Embassador of Italy in Korea, Massimo Andrea Leggeri, recalled the importance of the topic covered by the Seminar also on the plane of the debate in the major international meetings, first of all that of the United Nations. In this regard, he has recalled the meetings at the highest level organized in 2007 by the General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon and, in particular, the principal, in Indonesia, Bali, which has token place in concomitance with this Seminar. He has recalled the importance attributed to the issues of climate change within the G8 since 2006, and that is likely to remain at the center of attention even under the Japanese presidency of 2008 and the Italian one of 2009. In recalling that the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change), in its last report (2007), has unequivocally attributed to the human activities the responsability for the recent and rapid global warming, the Ambassador has expressed the hope that every Country, both under the Kyoto Protocol, and in the post-2012, will actively work for a significant reduction of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere, and has subsequently opened the works of the Congress.

The next event has been the ceremony for the signing of the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the EWU and the UNITO, as said before. As the Rector of the UNITO, Prof. Ezio Pelizzetti, was unable to be present personally, because of his commitments related to the almost concurrent inauguration of the academic year at the UNITO, he has sent a video containing the greeting to the EWU and its President, the Italian Embassador, the Lecturers and Researchers present and with the signing of the original document, which has been led personally by Prof. Cassardo and then countersigned by the President of EWU, Prof. Bae-Yong Lee. Prof. Pelizzetti, in his speech, has also stressed the importance of this MoU for both universities and, in general, for the development of cooperation between the two Countries, and has promised to make soon a visit to Korea. He has also emphasized the importance of the issues addressed in the Seminar and has suggested that the "II Joint Seminar Korea-Italy on Climatic Change" will be held in Italy in 2008, possibly at the UNITO.

Subsequently, the proper scientific seminar has begun, in which the complex field of climate change, the origin of which depends on both natural cyclical phenomena, and more and more on the influence of human activities, and in particular on the alterations caused by the excessive presence of release into the atmosphere of greenhouse gases resulting from the consumption of fossil fuels, has been dealt with a very comprehensive and expanded treatment. A key reading of the rapid changes occurred in recent decades towards a general warming must be found in a careful, but critical, assessment of the atmospheric variations in different geographical areas and in the influence of individual physical parameters. The environmental modeling developed in Italy and Korea represents a valuable tool for the interpretation of the phenomena and for a realistic assessment of the medium and long effects, whose gravity not only physical but also social and economic is lying at the center of the international attention. The Chairman of the Seminar has been Prof. Seon-Ki Park, Director of the SSRC of EWU.

The first speaker, Dr. Yung-Ang Chung, has emphasized the economic relevance that climate change can have, particularly when they are at the origin of catastrophic events such as floods, tornadoes, typhoons, etc.. Dr. Chung as then presented a summary of the evidences already observed in Korea as a result of the recent and rapid evolution of the global climate, with an emphasis on what is being done now in Korea and what it is expected to do in the near future concerning the future human activities that might affect the climate.

Prof. Rokjin J. Park has subsequently presented some evaluations on the influence of ozone and aerosols on human activities and their links with the climatic variations, because these compounds cause a reduction in the incoming solar radiation at the surface. Taking into account the spatial and temporal distributions of the concentrations of these important pollutants and the ability of models in reconstructing their trends, he has reported some findings on significant environmental phenomena occurred in Asia (forest fires in Siberia, dust storms from China, etc.), underlining the current criticities of the models and the address of the future research in this field.

Dr. Antonello Pasini has discussed the challenges that the study of the climate system poses to scientific research, stressing the philosophy and structure of the models (the so-called "virtual laboratory") that have been developed and still are developing in order to properly reconstruct the climate behavior, to understand the fundamental causes that have led the recent development and to be able to provide its future development. He has also presented examples of the expected impacts on global and regional level over the territory and the ecosystems, and has showed how the application of models different from those commonly used for climatic simulations, namely neural networks, lead to results very similar to those obtained by deterministic models used for example from IPCC, suggesting from one hand the validity of this approach, and from the other the significant forcing of the climate change signal due to anthropogenic causes.

Prof. Hoi Chang Ho has discussed the influence of human activities, especially the industrial ones, on climate change, taking into consideration the changes of meteorological variables (temperature, humidity, but also large-scale circulation and number of typhoons) in eastern Asia and their correlation with measurements from satellites and of pollution. The period studied has been the second half of the twentieth century. Prof. Ho has also stressed that the Korean data suggest the presence of climatic changes in recent times, although the temporal extension of the dataset is too limited to afford to say this fact with certainty. Nevertheless, he has also showed that the evidences founded by examining a recent Chinese dataset of sufficient temporal extension to cover the last century have suggested that climate change is attributable to human activities.

Prof. Claudio Cassardo has evidenced some data and effects of climate change taken place in recent years in Italy, focusing on a particularly sensitive region such as the  Alps and emphasizing some data of the last two decades. In particular, he has shown as the regional distribution of the forecasted variations presents several differences, in particular for what is concerning the Alpine area, which is strongly affected by the orientation of the high elevation flows. Prof. Cassardo has also highlighted what effects the climatic variations predicted by the might have on the local climate and water resources. As regards as the latter aspect, he has pointed out how the changes envisaged by the models regarding temperature and precipitation can cause possible reductions in the river flows during the summer and increase the risk of flooding in the first part of the spring, due to the anticipation of the snow melting season and to the decrease of the surface covered by ice.

Prof. Seon-Ki Park has started his speech by pointing out the vulnerability of the south-eastern Asian Countries to severe weather events, such as extratropical cyclones, typhoons or tropical depressions, with the correlated possibilities of severe rainfall and destructive winds. Then he has presented some considerations about the possibility to predict correctly and with a sufficient anticipation those phenomena with the current models and facilities of the Meteorological Services. Due to the fact that the predictions of IPCC for the future climate seem to suggest that such extreme weather events will increase both in number and in intensity in the recent future, Prof. Park has stressed on the necessity of Meteorological Services to improve their capability and skill of predicting such events. Actually the scientific community in Korea agrees about the importance of the regionality in the birth and in the subsequent evolution of such events, and on the need to develop numerical predictive models strongly linked with the geo-orographic local conditions, and to improve the data availability in the regions in which often such phenomena originate.

The debate which has followed the relator's speaches has stressed that climate change can have major repercussions in many areas, and that a careful study of the climatology, even at regional scale, which would allow to take note of some possible consequences of certain phenomena now already underway, in order to better plan each future activity, is the most effective response to the emergencies related to climate change and global warming. It has been stressed that only through a continue research in the fields of meteorology and climatology, primarily through numerical modeling, but also in terms of collection and analysis of the available measurements, we can have the necessary information in order to assess and limit the damage that each climatic change may produce. Many relators have mentioned the IPCC forecasts and the increasingly important role of the public dissemination of information scientifically correct and understandable by an enlarged audience. This Seminar has represented an important moment for the Italy-Korea collaboration, and has allowed to highlight how the scientific skills and capabilities of the two Countries in the field of meteorology and numerical modeling tools can provide a real understanding of a complex system such as the climate. The seminar has brought also the appreciation of the Korean scientific community and hopes for an increased cooperation in the future even through the MoU signed between EWU and UNITO have been expressed. The meeting has been attended by about one hundred people including students, Professors and common people. At the end of the event, as also wished by the UNITO Rector, Prof. Ezio Pelizzetti, it has been suggested that the 2^nd Korea-Italy Joint Seminar on Climate Change will be carried out in 2008 at the UNITO.

A small amatorial photo gallery taken during the event

(photos have been taken by Dr. Antonino Tata and by a student of Prof. Seon-Ki Park)

EWU President Prof. Bae-Yong Lee is opening this event by underlining the cultural and social reflections that these themes propose, and remarking also the importance of the signature of the MoU between EWU and UNITO	Italian Embassador in Korea Massimo Andrea Leggeri is highligthing the importance of the public debate on the climate change and of presenting the scientific results in such a way that also the general public can understand these problems	A frame of the video message of the UNITO Rector Prof. Ezio Pelizzetti. The audience has followed with great attention his speech, and has particularly appreciated his attempt to pronounce the greetings in Korean language
EWU President Prof. Bae-Yong Lee is countersigning the MoU between EWU and UNITO, already signed by the UNITO Rector, prof. Ezio Pelizzetti, during the record of the video message, on November 27, 2007. Since this moment, the MoU between EWU and UNITO is operative.	EWU President, Prof. Bae-Yong Lee, who has already received some presents from the UNITO Rector, Prof. Ezio Pelizzetti, gives in change some presents to Prof. Claudio Cassardo	Dr. Yung-Ang Chung is presenting a summary of the evidences of global warming already observed in Korea, highligthing their economic impacts
Prof. Rokjin J. Park is talking about the effects of the forest fires recently occurred in Siberia on the radiative balance in the lower and higher atmosphere	Dr. Antonello Pasini is showing as the results of his neural network model can reproduce well the temperature trend in the last 150 years	Prof. Claudio Cassardo is showing the values diagnosed by his model LSPM during the 2003 summer heat wave
Prof. Seon-Ki Park is highligthing the importance of the initial data in forecasting the typhoons trajectories

Table II - List of Divisions and Programs at the College of Engineering of EWU

Table III - List of Faculties at the UNITO

Table IV - List of educational offer at the Faculty of Sciences of UNITO

• Global Village (quarterly web newsletter of ecology, in Italian)
• Interview with Prof. Cassardo on web-radio the University of Turin (www.110.unito.it) (in Italian)
• Considerations in the blog of "Il Sole 24 Ore", edited by Dr. Pasini on environmental issues (in Italian)
• The report of the Italian "focal point" of IPCC (in Italian)
• The Web site AGI-Energia (in Italian)
• Korea Times (Korean newspaper in English language)
• Korea Herald (Korean newspaper in the English language)
• Korean Meteorological Society (in Korean)
• The Ewha weekly (newspaper of Ewha Womans University, in Korean)