Fun Learning Experience Made by Friendship across the Sea

Collaboration across borders is happening all over the world. Connecting with people who share the same interest in a specific product or service, either in person or online, gives you the opportunity to gain new insights and grow as an expert.

In many of these global collaborations, the primary language of communication is English. For people whose first language is not English and who rarely communicate in English in everyday life, connecting with people from different language backgrounds can be difficult.

Microsoft MVPs from Korea and Japan, who despite speaking different languages ​​share commonalities of being part of the technology community and having an interest in Power Apps, co-hosted a hands-on event in Korea. In this blog, we will introduce this event along with the experiences shared by the participants.

From Japan to Korea: “Musical Instrument App” Development through Power Apps and Community Talk

At the Microsoft Korea headquarters in Seoul, which has a direct view of Gyeongbokgung Palace, the royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty, Korean and Japanese Microsoft MVPs, Microsoft Run student ambassadors, and community employees gathered to hold a community event. Super hands-on experience with Korean and Japanese MVPs!. The concept was to provide Korean community members with a unique Japanese tech community experience. Attendees who visited the event experienced a Japanese community initiative to develop musical instrument apps using Power Apps through hands-on workshops.

The event started with a session by Japanese MVP. Ryota NakamuraIntroducing an overview of the Power Platform community in Japan. Participants listened with great interest as various communities and their activities were introduced.

Japanese business application MVP Ryota Nakamura introduces the Japanese community.

Following Korea MVP Jaeseok LeeGuided by the teacher, a hands-on session began where participants focused entirely on the goal of developing a piano app. Many participants were new to Power Apps and successfully completed their first Power Apps experience by reaching out to MVPs and community staff for help when needed.

Jaeseok Lee, Korea Business Application MVP, leads the start of the hands-on session.

Community Program Manager Soyoung Lee is learning how to use the tool with community members.

Lastly, nine participants took the lead and played ‘Do-Re-Mi’ using the piano app they developed, led by the Japanese MVP. Taichi NakamuraEveryone finished the hands-on workshop with a smile on their faces. You can watch a video of the performance below.

Q&A session for deeper mutual understanding

After the practice, we further deepened mutual understanding through a Q&A session. Japanese MVP Ryota, Taichi, etc. Azure MVP/regional director Kazuyuki Miyake, former Microsoft employee Shohei OdaHe has extensive knowledge of Developer Relations and answered various questions from participants. The discussion covered topics on the Power Platform and AI technologies, from business and community perspectives to participants’ participation in the technology community and future growth. The conversation continued for over an hour as questions continued to come in.

Japanese panelist (I also spoke a bit, appears on the far left)

Background of this collaboration

This collaboration is with Korean MVP Lee Jae-seok. Inhee LeeWe run the Power Platform community in Korea.

Jaeseok, one of the Korean MVP organizers, shared the inspiration for the idea: “I had the opportunity to share my thoughts on visiting Japan with Rie Moriguchi, Community Program Manager for Japan, at the Microsoft AI Tour event in late April. This conversation led to discussions about collaborating with Power Platform MVPs in various regions of Japan, and ultimately led to planning this event.”

Jaeseok continues, “When a Japanese MVP introduced us to a demonstration of playing an instrument made with Power Apps, we realized how fun and versatile the Power Platform could be. Inspired by this, I decided to organize interactive hands-on sessions (including interpreters) instead of formal seminars. We planned to collaborate with Japanese MVPs to create a piano app and present ‘Do-Re-Mi’ together. “This idea has expanded as travel plans have evolved, allowing many people to have wonderful and fun experiences.”

Meanwhile, Japanese MVP Ryota expressed his feelings about receiving the invitation, which was a new community experience for him. “I have always had a strong desire to connect with MVPs from around the world. After having the opportunity to speak at an event in Thailand, I wanted to encourage Japanese MVPs to participate more in international events. I was particularly interested in building relationships with Korean MVPs, because Korea is not only a physically close neighbor but also has active international exchanges. So I was really happy when I received this offer. I am filled with excitement about the unique interactive opportunities that only the IT community can provide.”

Preparation for the collaboration involved Japanese MVPs creating content and sharing it with Korean MVPs in an online meeting before the event. Everyone met in person only on the day of the event. Despite not working together on a regular basis, each MVP demonstrated community leadership and kept the event lively from start to finish.

Recalling this collaboration experience, Inhee said, “I wanted to do an event with overseas MVPs, and now that I am doing it, my heart is pounding with excitement and emotion. Above all, thanks to Heo Seok, who took the time to train the staff in advance even though he was busy with new work, I was able to simply enjoy the meals prepared by others. Unlike preparing a lecture in person, it was easier because it was an event where all you had to do was cheer on others. But as a result, I felt a little less tense and less focused.”

MVP organizers (from left: Japan Ryota, Korea Inhee, Japan Taichi, Korea Jaeseok)

A new community experience for both countries

As mentioned in Inhee’s comment, the MVPs who contributed greatly to the success of this event were: Heo SeokThrough this collaboration, we discovered new possibilities for our community. “Previous hands-on activities primarily followed the scenario of ‘new technology + current tasks = increased productivity.’ This often led to simple diffusion of the technology. But this event was different. Not only was there a focus on developing skills to improve work productivity, but all participants filled the atmosphere with excitement. “It was a rediscovery of the joy of community activities, and I think this experience will become a new standard for future community events.”

Taichi, another Japanese MVP, shared what he learned from interacting with Korean community members rather than the Japanese members he normally interacts with. “I felt that the language barrier had already been greatly reduced when interacting with people from other countries. But I also realized that having a translator is still very convenient. We look forward to further advancements in IT technology that break down language barriers. Although we came from different countries, our shared interest in IT created an immediate sense of connection. It didn’t take long for us to become friends. There was a lot of enthusiasm for learning new skills and knowledge, and the Q&A session was full of passionate questions. One of the key takeaways from the community event was that shyness is not acceptable. Additionally, I was surprised by the number of student participants. Student participation is rare in the Japanese community I am a part of, so I felt we needed to create more bridges for students to participate.”

Taichi took this opportunity to mention the most impactful lesson he learned. “What I admired most was how almost everyone had a smile on their face from start to finish. “It reaffirms the importance of ‘fun’ as a core element of these activities.”

Japanese MVP, Ryota, Taichi, Korean student participants

MVP’s Commitment to Bridging the Language Gap

Korean Developer Technology MVP Jinseok Kimwhose main area of ​​expertise is .NET rather than Power Platform, is fluent in Japanese, so he played an important role in this collaboration from planning to execution. During the event, English was used in meetings between organizers and participants, but not everyone could communicate fluently in English. He provided real-time translation during hands-on sessions and community conversations, supporting communication and information exchange among non-native English speakers.

Jinseok said about this event, “More than anything, I was most happy to be able to give you the feeling that we could try something together. Everyone has a vague fear of international exchange, but it seems like this is an opportunity to overcome this. It was also an opportunity to personally experience a change in perspective. “I want to do more enjoyable activities in the future,” he said.

Right: Mr. Jinseok, who assisted with communication in Korean and Japanese.

Towards further cooperation

As recently introduced on the MVP Community Blog, Korea’s AI Platform MVP participated as an invited speaker at the conference. Japan Azure OpenAI Service Development Day ConferenceProvides a new perspective on technical information to the Japanese community. This time, Japanese MVPs visited Korea and provided an enjoyable community experience to the Korean community. New community values ​​are being created through collaboration between communities that have traditionally focused primarily on domestic activities.

Building on the success of this collaboration, MVPs from both countries are already discussing the next exciting project: “Let’s hold the next event in Japan.” Inhee, a community leader and father, expressed his thoughts after communicating with the Japanese MVPs. “Furthermore, it was an unexpected bonus that I was able to empathize deeply with Japanese MVPs who have teenage children. “I’m already looking forward to the next event,” he said.

Lastly, we would like to share event report blogs written by MVPs after the event ends. Learn more about their thoughts and insights through this experience.

– Kim Jin-seok (Korea): Super Hand On Korean and..: Naver Blog (naver.com)
– Ryota Nakamura (Japan): A story about traveling to Korea (zenn.dev)
– Taichi Nakamura (Japan): Korean Community Events, Talk to School, Save Money, and Talk – Art-Break .log: Taichi Nakamura

Everyone gathered for this special event smiles together and takes a group photo.