Yonsei University

Division of International Education and Exchange

“From Yonsei, Out to the World!”

Yonsei University is one of the top universities in the nation. The Division of International Education and Exchange hosts a six week summer program. There is a maximum of three classes that you can take, one of them being the Korean Language Class. The other classes range from Korean economy to Korean-American Assimilation, and these classes are taught in English. The program also provides a five day field trip prior to the actual program, which takes you on a tour of some highlights of Korea. The group of students that do go on this program is predominantly of Korean ancestry. Many times students come to learn more about their family history and experience the cultural environment of what their parents went through. However, the program is not limited to Korean-American students.

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Campus Life The Five-Day Field Trip Outside School WORLD CUP – Pilsung Corea!

Campus Life – Dorms and Classes

This is the International House where students stayed if they chose to dorm. For the summer program, dorms costs approximately $500. Each dorm room is a double, and it is fully equipped with air conditioning, beds, linens, closets, desk, and high speed internet. We were very lucky to have air conditioning because the International House is the only dormitory that has air conditioning, and it would keep us cool from the hot and humid days.

This is a closer picture of the dormitory from the back.

Worried about safety in the dorms? There is no need to be scared because the dormitory has a security guard. (Man in the middle) Also they have a device that checks your fingerprint to open the main doors of the dormitory, and there are security cameras all over the building.

The building behind us is the College of Social Sciences. This is where the closing ceremony was held.

This is the Korean Language Institute Building where my Korean class was held.

This is the New Millennium Hall where all my other classes were held. The KLI Building and the New Millennium are right next door to the dorms.

This is my Korean class which was the Beginning I -2 level. There are three levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Among those levels, the classes divide into two parts: Beginner I and Beginner II, Intermediate I and II, and so on.

On Wednesdays, there are special activity classes instead of the regular daily class schedule. One special activity is called Poongmool, which is a type of folk music consisting of Korean traditional percussion instruments. Usually the music is accompanied with dancing and vivid motions.

Danso (Bamboo Flute) is one of the easiest Korean wind instruments to play. Here the students are performing the song Arirang, an old traditional Korean song.

This special activity is called Taekwondo, which is a form of Korean martial arts. It is for all levels, and usually students pass to the next belt by the end of the session.

The Five-Day Field Trip

The field trip is a five day excursion to other parts of Korea besides Seoul.

This was the field trip group in front of a Buddhist temple. There were over a hundred students that traveled together. A lot of times initial friendships that are made on this trip lasts throughout the entire program.

This is part of the Bulguksa Temple, which is one of the most famous and the oldest surviving Buddhist monasteries in Korea.

This is also another part of the Bulguksa Temple. This temple is located at the western mid-slope of Mt. Tohamsan, and it is famous for its architectural excellence.

If you look carefully, you can see that the rocks on the ground are complied of little rocks stacked up on top of each other. A superstition was to make a wish and place a pebble on one of the existing towers. If the tower falls, then you will have bad luck. If the tower remains standing, then your wish will come true.

These statues were integral parts to the Buddhist religion.

The best part of the field trip was hiking Sorak San. (San means mountain in Korean) The hike was approximately an hour long. Despite the strenuous work to go on top of the mountain, the rewards were well worth it. The view from the top of the mountain was just magnificent and peaceful.

Outside School

Since there were no cafeterias that served dinner, we would go out into Seoul and eat dinner. This is a traditional dinner setting where we eat on the floor sitting on small mats. Usually we cook kalbi over a barbeque on the table, and it also comes with a lot of different kinds of panchan. (Side dishes)

Right outside of Seoul, there was a bungee jumping facility that only cost us 22,000 Won, which converts to approximately 20 US dollars. The ledge was about 145 feet from the ground.

They are harnessing up, getting ready to jump!

WORLD CUP – Pilsung Corea!

The best part of Korea was the world cup. Seoul was renovated with enormous flat screen TV’s, so the whole city could come together and watch the game. This place was City Hall, which was one of the most crowded places to watch the games at.

There were many different cheers that the Korean community shouted to support the Korean team. The most popular one was “Dae Ha Ming Guk!” which translates to Korea, but in literal terms it means “Great Nation.”

Watching the games was not only crazy. But after the games, the streets in Seoul would fill up with fans and they would just jump and dance around cheering for the team. This picture was taken after they lost in semi-finals – and they still had much pride in their team!