My life as an exchange student in Korea

Hi guys! Sorry I haven't been updating the blog very much but I've just been having way too much fun here! My friend Ruben from the Netherlands said he wanted to share an article with you guys because he's convinced more people should come and visit Korea and SKKU. Of course I said yes, so here it is!

My life as an exchange student in Korea
by Ruben

Korea..?

Let’s be honest. Not a lot of people know what Korea is really like. I think that’s a missed opportunity. As a student from the Netherlands who has traveled through Europe a lot and spent a year living in Japan, I can tell you that Korea is definitely a country that you should want to visit. That’s why I decided to share my experience with you. Hopefully it will inspire you to check out what Korea has to offer.

The University

After careful consideration, the University I chose to go to was SungKyunKwan University (SKKU). SKKU is located in the center of Seoul, the capital of Korea. In this city you can find anything you could imagine. It’s a huge city with around 10 million people living there (25% of South-Korea!). I’ll summarize the highlights: crowded clubs (even during weekdays! Me and Sabira love going out dancing), cheap beer and soju (Korean drink, 20% alcohol), great food for only a couple of euros, karaoke, lots of young people out on the street, modern theater performances (dancing, art, etc), fashionable shops... In other words; there’s simply loads to do.

The campus itself is located on a hill, and while it’s relatively small compared to other Universities, it’s still a lot bigger than what you can find in the Netherlands. It’s also quite modern; in just about every building a computer room is available to you. There’s also a lot of effort being put into keeping the campus green, by planting a lot of trees and flowers. SKKU is built next to a 600 year old traditional Korean school, so those that are interested in experiencing Korean culture are in luck. I still visit the old school building from time to time, simply because it’s such a nice place.

The SKKU campus; lots of green, modern buildings.
Dutch Universities fall short in comparison.

The dormitory is conveniently located near the University. This makes it easy to jump out of bed at the last minute and still be on time. Right now the Korean economy isn’t doing too well, but that’s a good thing for me because it means cheap prices. I only pay 160 euros per month for my room, which is dead cheap considering what you get for it. However there’s one disadvantage.. you have to share your room with a roommate. I live with a Chinese guy, and I have to say I’ve learned a lot about China through him, but I still would’ve liked to have had my own room. It’s a very nice and modern room (built quite recently). Every we cleaning lady’s come by to clean the room for you. You got your own bed, your own shower, blankets, internet, a shared kitchen on the 1st floor that is kept clean very well, a living room with TV and lounge-chairs, and a couple of computers.

Study

Yup, it’s not only about having fun. Or is it? I actually enjoy studying here quite a lot. My main reason for coming here was to learn the the Korean language. They offer you a free intensive Korean course that takes 4 hours per day (from 9 to 1). It’s a lot, but you also learn a lot, and studying a language is actually quite fun. Personally I think that having fun while studying is very important. If you study what you enjoy, you will undoubtedly do very well. That’s why I love studying here.

Of course there’s also a large variety of academic courses that you can choose from. The only disadvantage is that the courses that not all courses are taught in English, so you have to be selective. On top of that, if you take the language courses that means that you can only choose academic courses that start in the afternoon. Luckily they have a great system where you get to try any course that you want for the first week without binding yourself to it. I just tried every course that seemed somewhat interesting and I ended up with some very nice courses. My favorite one is "Game Workshop". In this course we discuss what it is for a game to be fun, and how you can apply that to the design process (harder than you think!). We have to do a lot of group projects which are always a lot of fun. My most recent project was about making a game that you could play on the street with people that are passing by. It ended up being a great success.

Our game-design consisted of going from one point to the other while
passing a bunch of balls over from one person to the next using pipes.
Pass the ball, run to the other side, repeat.

I should tell you that if you want to come study in Korea you should first discuss with your own University whether you can get credit for the courses that you are doing here. In my case I don’t need any more credit. I just study because I want to learn something, not because of some peace of paper that says I did a good job. Also, my experience here gave me the time I needed to think about what I want to do in the future.

Outside of studying

The amount of events on the campus is quite astounding. It seems that every few weeks there is something going on. The biggest event I’ve seen thus far was a concert with lots of famous Korean singers. "Yeah, they do that around twice a year here" said one of my Korean friends, as if it was normal! Another festival had lots of stands around the campus where you could buy food and drinks. At night people would gather and sit on the floor drinking and talking together. It was really nice.

Koreans are simply very nice and social people. When you meet a friend they give you a pat on the shoulder or a firm handshake. Women here often walk arm in arm. In Japan I always had a hard time making friends because people tend to be a little distant there. Here it’s quite the opposite. Go to a bar with some classmates and after a few drinks, you’ve gained a few good new friends.

There’s also quite a few student-organizations which you can join. Dancing, sports, study, drinking, you name it. A lot of these clubs have yearly events. They lure people to these events by sticking a colored rope to the ground which you can follow. This works very well. I’ve quite often seen some really good shows simply by following it. Recently I saw a show of one of the dancing clubs. They have a lot of clubs that are about dancing and they are really good at it here. After seeing the show I definitely want to try and join them.

If you have any problems during your stay, you can visit the International Office of SKKU. The International Office consists of a bunch of people that are willing to help you out no matter what your problem is. SKKU has recently been trying to get more people to come to their University, and that’s why they really spend a lot of time trying to help you.

The International Office also keeps you informed about any possible school trips. There are a lot of events and trips that you can participate in for free if you keep your eyes and ears open. Especially check out the posters that they put up around the International Office. Recently I’ve been invited by an organisation that helps foreigners in Seoul ("Seoul Global Center") to go on a tour. They gave us a short presentation about themselves, after which we had a very nice lunch followed by a trip to the museum. The highlight was the "b-boys" performance that we got to see. "b-boys" is the hippest dancing group in Seoul of the moment. The show was quite a spectacle. After the performance we got treated to a greatly luxurious dinner. We were also scheduled to go to Seoul-tower (a high tower with a great view of Seoul) but unfortunately I already had another appointment.

The“b-boys” performance;
dancing like a robot in suits that lit up in the dark.

Money

Money is of course always an issue when you are studying abroad. If you go as an exchange student, it means that you have to pay your own University. If you’re European like me, that means that it’s going to be cheap. Also you should contact the International Office of your school to see if there’s any scholarships available. One possible scholarship program is called ASEM-DUO. You can get up to 4000 euros for a period of 4 months or longer. Depending on what country you’re from it may or may not apply to you, but you should definitely check it out: www.asemduo.org

If you’re in luck, and the economy doesn’t recover by the time you want to go, Korea may be very cheap for you. Especially for people from the US or Japan right now. Even if the economy does recover it’s still cheap if you’re from Europe. Food is only a couple of euros and your room also doesn’t cost too much. Scholarships are often very much possible to obtain as long as you put in the effort. You could additionally try to contact the Korean ambassy in your country to see if they have additional information about scholarships.

The facts

Lots of possibilities to study, nice people, cheap, and you get to do a lot of events and trips for free. A great experience I’d say. There really isn’t any reason why you couldn’t go. Maybe you’re still in doubt and still have some remaining questions. I would recommend that you just contact the SKKU International Office and ask, because they are always willing to help possible students. You can find the contact details on the SKKU website.

Maybe you want to go, but you don’t have the time. Well, even then there’s a solution. SKKU has a very attractive Summer School program. Depending on what University you are from, you may or may not get a discount, but it’s worth going there even if you have to pay for it. During a period of 5 weeks you get a bunch of very interesting courses. A school trip is also organized every week. And of course lots of fun with all the other students from all over the world. It’s basically everything I’m experiencing here put together in a 5-week package. If you go in 2009 you may even meet me, because I’m planning to join the Summer School again.

Want to go? Ask the International Office of your University and they’ll be able to help you.

Website SKKU: www.skku.edu/eng
Scholarship ASEM-DUO: www.asemduo.org

Promotional SKKU video:

SKKU Summer School get started!

International Summer School SKKU 2008 gets started!

I think that it is one of the most important events in history of Sungkyunkwan University. Become global it is what SKKU look for since releasing International Student Exchange program in University. But this program is special, even unique, because it is held for the first time and its core concept is "Culture, Business and technology in East Asia"!

23rd of June...Orientation Day!

This day we first met all students who came from 32 countries! Could you imagine??? Totally 150 International students and 150 Korean students joined International Summer School in SKKU!
Orientation Day was held in memorial 600th anniversary building, millennium hall. First we were greeted by Summer school staff and we were given some gifts such as notebooks with SKKU logo, Korea travel guide book, and International Summer School T-shirt!

We were divided into group numbers. In each group there are 10 representatives of different countries. Also each international student was given with Korean buddy. I think that really works for exchanging cultures efficiently and enjoyably.

Orientation has started with welcoming speech of organizers of Summer school, and after that we were watching performance from SKKU dance club. Then we were introduced to overall purpose of the program, what we can expect from program, what are the main objectives, and what values it contains. Also during orientation we were provided with basic teachings of Korean most often used expressions such as 안녕하세요 (Hello), 감사합니다 (thank you) and etc. I think many students enjoyed that! Also we watched Korea Sparkling Video, we learnt some basic cultural issues, and also we were shown the places that we can visit in Korea to experience culture, to get know history, as well as to see beautiful natural scenery in Korea.
What was surprising for me is that usually at the first day people are really shy and they don’t talk too much, they just try to keep some distance so that then to get know each other. But in Summer School everything is different, everyone is so ambitious and active, all people are involved in dynamic flow of events, building strong friendship and enjoying time in Korea. When official part of orientation has finished, we were treated with delicious dinner of Korean cuisine. During this time we switched from one table to another meeting new people, having conversations and enjoying food! After orientation ended, all summer school students, international and Korean buddies decided altogether to go to bar in order to mark in memory the first day in International Summer School.
Well, what can I say is that first day in Summer School was really remarkable and we really enjoyed that day!=)

Dormitory life during International summer school!
Its early morning but you already can hear voices downstairs! Summer school students are ready to start new day in Seoul!
Life in dorm cardinally changed since Summer School get started! So many new people! Dorm reflects the dynamic and speedy life of Summer school students, who actively participate in everyday life activities with the purpose not to waste time and live a day so that remember it for whole life!
Everyone is so nice and friendly and at the same time everyone is so unique! While talking to them you feel how different they are, their way of behaving, acting and their culture gives big drive to show that each country has its own tremendous background that applies for building national uniqueness and significance. It’s really cool to experience that and Summer school is like solution or opportunity to wide your knowledge about world through interacting in multicultural society.
The first floor in the dorm is like meeting place. You will always see people, who meet there in order to talk, plan their travel schedules, play ping-pong, or order pizza and watch movies on TV. Just passing by and seeing smiling faces that say Hi to you make you already happy and in a good mood! Dorm during Summer School is like fulfiller of energy from positive and active people! ^^

Distinguishing faculty! Summer school classes…
One of the core advantages of Summer School in SKKU is distinguishing faculty. To this program professors have been invited from around the world. Their teaching universities are well-known for the superior quality of education and its world class level. The Summer School program is considered unique because it offers more than just to experience culture; it also gives us opportunity to experience high quality educational system through diversity that is reached between International students from 32 countries and distinguished faculty. I even heard that many students came to Summer School with wish to attend lectures of such professors as Charles Hampden-Turner who is from Cambridge University, UK; Professor John Lie from University of California, Berkeley; Professor Hong Kal from York University, Canada. Also there is list of other distinguished professors from world-class universities such as Professor Raymond Ferris Abelin, from Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, professor Reuben Mondejar from city University of Hong-Kong (he graduated from Harvard University), Professor Jon Sigurdson from well-known Europe School- Stockholm School of Economics which is found in Sweden, and he is specialist in global Innovation systems, another Professor- Margaret Tan, she is deputy director of Singapore Internet Research Center, and she teaches in Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, Professor Edward Romar from University of Massachusetts at Boston, U.S.A (college of business, formerly with IBM corporation), Professor Abidin Kusno from University of British Columbia, Canada (and he is Canada Research Chair in Asian Urbanism and Culture), and Professor Sook-Jong Lee from Sungkyunkwan University, and her lectures are about Globalization in East Asia.
Listing all professors who came for that program, I feel even proud of myself that I have such a chance to attend their lectures. The knowledge backgrounds that they provide are about Business, Technology and Culture in East Asia which supports the essential core concept of International Summer School in SKKU.
Well, first of all we were really excited about lectures that we are going to attend. At the first day when the lectures were about to start, we all kept silent expecting to see very strict professors who are really strict at following rules and whose educational process was like “just listen to me, because I’m a specialist”! What was surprising is that during the lectures we felt so free in expressing our own opinions, in determining possible cases, and what professors always tried to do is to involve us in wide-scale discussions where we could create even acting scenes and perform them in front of huge audience. Especially that was really unforgettable experience during the lectures of Professor Charles Hampden-Turner from Cambridge University (course-Comparative Business and Culture in East and West), because every lecture we were given particular cases that are about doing business in East and West, and we were not only required to discuss about problems or behaving issues but also we were asked to act on the stage in order to create real atmosphere and to feel how it works in reality. That was really exciting and unforgettable experience. Also all professors were so open and easy-going, we really felt so easy to express our opinions, and the environment that was created during lectures was like friend to friend interacting. I learnt a lot from Summer School program, now I see how different cultures and values in east and west, how businesses in East countries operate, what are the most important issues that they determine, also I even can predict some possible behaving tactics from east companies that face particular problem. Now I see that attention of global environment turns to East Asia, particularly to China, which is considered second largest economy in the world, also before attending Summer School program I even couldn't’t realize that success in East Asian countries, in terms of globalizing activities could be also considered as obtainment from teachings of great Confucius, who was philosopher in 551 BC, China. With the help of Summer School in SKKU with the main concept “Culture, Business and Technology in East Asia” I wide my knowledge about East Asia, I opened some new perspectives in understanding Asian culture, its values and norms, and its relationship to values, and also I realized how it became important to consider East Asian countries when case concerns with global economy, business and technology. What I really want to say about classes and faculty in Summer School is that that was real, real unforgettable experience that involved high-class professionalism from faculty side and active motivation and desire to learn about East Asia from students’ side.

International Summer School entertainment program!
Field trips!!!
International Summer School organized for us several field trips in order to get to know Korean culture, its values, its business and technology development more effectively and practically. One of them that was really for me exciting and unforgettable is Youngju trip.
Youngju is one of the smallest cities in South Korea, and it takes only 2.30 hour to get there. Although this city is not well-known among even Koreans, this city has a lot of admirable places that really represent traditional heritage and historical importance in Korea’s history.



Visit to KT&G.
First we were introduced to Tobacco making factory, called KT&G. As following the main thematic of our program “Business, culture, and technology of East Asia”, Summer school tried to introduce not only elements of Korean traditional heritage in filed trip, but also today’s business environment in Korea, and its importance on local as well as global market. KT&G, originally "Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation,” is the leading tobacco company in South Korea with sales over two billion US dollars per year with significant profits on a consistent basis. As we were presented, KT&G produces some of the most popular Korean cigarette brands, such as The One, Indigo, Arirang, This, This Plus, Zest, Esse, Raison, and Lo Crux. It also enjoys growing success outside Korea, especially through its super slims brand Esse in Russia and other eastern European markets. KT&G also has significant affiliates such as a ginseng corporation, a pharmaceutical firm, and several bio ventures. After presentation of KT&G Company, we were brought to main factory where manufacturing process takes place. We were shown the process of producing the tobacco products. That was really incredible experience, we saw how huge the factory is, and the most important fact that we notice is that role of technology nowadays is so significant, almost everything in the factory were operated by machines and robots. Only few people were there, just walking around and making sure that everything is under control. Also we were shown how materials are stored, which appropriate temperature must be set, and how finished products are shipped. And at the end of our excursion we were given some gifts, and some ginseng beverage that company produces. That excursion was really helpful for us to get know more about Korean foremost manufacturing companies, and its significance in the world market.

Visit to the Seonbichon Scholar’s Village.
After excursion to KT&G Company, we were brought to Korean traditional village called Seonbichon, and we stayed there for 2 days. It was great idea to bring us to that place. I think it is possible to call Seonbichon not only as Scholar’s Village but also as a Folk Village, because many years ago, it was a school of Confucian studies, but recently this village’s purpose is to display elements of traditional Korean life and culture. Seonbichon has been represented as a home to Korean heritage and many features of Korean culture have been collected and preserved for future generations. A collection of buildings brought together from different regions and time periods. Also there were shown numerous replicas of traditional houses of the different social classes. The village was very shady and relaxing. While we were walking around we just kept saying what a peaceful experience this is. We could not get over it. There were people who were wearing traditional clothing so that it could make our experience more impressive by involving as many traditional elements as possible. Also there were artisans, traditional restaurants, folk performances and a traditional wedding ceremony, all of these make for a place that can't be beat, and about some events that were for me the most impressive I will describe in details.
Traditional wedding ceremony.
I think we were lucky, because we had a chance to experience and observe the real traditional wedding ceremony. One couple who were exchange students from Czech Republic decided to marry, holding ceremony in Korean traditional style and Youngju’s Folk village was a perfect place to make their dream come true. That was really exciting for us to observe the real wedding ceremony that lasted about for an hour and it consisted of many parts involving different rituals and behaviors. At the beginning of ceremony, the parents of both sides took a seat in front of each other, and groom’s side should seat in the east side and bride’s in the west. The musicians played musical instruments to make the mood more festive. Groom appeared first and with the help of two assistants he walked to the east side of the wedding table. After that the music has started playing louder and musicians started to dance in order to greet bride, who was sitting in the close carriage and four men carrying her were walking to the east side following two women who were assistants for bride’s side. As we were explained, bride is considered to be as a queen during the ceremony and she should hide until some rituals will be done from groom side so that later she could appeared for continuing the ceremony. After the speech of person who holds ceremony and after groom’s bowing the bride with the help of assistants leaves the carriage, hiding her face down from eyes arrangement with the long piece of material and walking to the west side of the wedding table. Finally, the groom and bride joined together and bowed three times: once to their parents, once to their ancestors, and once to the guests. After that the music has started and musicians playing instruments walking around invited guests to join for dancing, bride was carrying on the back of groom who also was dancing following musicians. The groom’s and bride’s parents coming at the center were dancing, and bride’s mother pretended to cry showing her sadness about daughter’s leave to another family. We really enjoyed the wedding ceremony, and it really made a big sense for getting know the Korean culture and its customs and traditions.

Natural dying process.
Another memorable experience in Folk village that we had was dying process using only natural resources, such as plants, flowers, fruits, roots and leaves. The women who taught us how to color the material said that in the past only natural resources were used for dying clothes, and the most popular colors were red, yellow, blue, black and white. These colors symbolize the five traditional elements in Oriental cosmology -fire, earth, water, metal, and wood. In the past, Korean people invented different ways of dying. Using only chopsticks and rubber string as tools you could create different shapes, vertical or horizontal lines on the material, spots, and other figures so that you could create good appearance for your piece of material. Then, after you decide how you are going to color you material, you put it to stainless steel pot with hot colorful water and wait for 20-25 min, so that dye could get into material. After that, you take out the rubber strings and wait until it become dry. This process isn’t so difficult, and I was really surprised that using only natural materials for dying could create such a bright and beautiful colors. The main qualities that you need for dying is to be accurate so that dye could take only those parts that you want to color and to be patient when you are waiting for dye get into material. That was really unforgettable experience!

Making of rice cake.

Traditional Korean rice cakes are not simply foods; they are a part of Korean culture that has endured t

he happiness and sorrows of Koreans for many years. It is a special dish that is indispensable for auspicious occasions and ceremonies. And we had a chance to see how rice cakes originally made, without using any modern technology. Rice cake is in fact made from rice. First, rice must be washed and dried well, after that is must be boiled, and then women put boiled rice on the wooden plate and men taking big wooden hammer mashes boiled rice evenly until it becomes as a soft dough. When rice is sticky, women add some water and knead dough in appropriate shape. When rice is soft enough, women roll the dough and cut it into small pieces, and then they put these pieces in some cake powder so that it could taste sweeter.
We really enjoyed watching the process of making a rice cake, and I was really surprised that Koreans were so creative in the past, so that even not having necessary equipment for making sweet dishes they still could invent some way for enjoying tasty and delicious food.

Visiting Buseoksa Temple.

Second day was even more exciting, because we were brought to the famous temple in Korea called Buseoksa Temple. This temple was built by the Great Priest Uisang in 676, and it features as one of Korea’s oldest wooden Buddhist buildings. Before stepping the path area to main temple, there was a wonderful waterfall that created a feeling of harmony and peace. Temple locates on an imposing hilltop, in order to get to the main Buddhist temple you have to pass 108 steps. That was a kind of challenge for us, but reaching the top of the hill we realized that challenge was nothing comparing with admiration that we perceived.
On the road we were passing through gates, and in one of them there were four huge monstrous figures and it was believed that these monstrous were frighten off the ghosts and evil spirits. As our guide said there’s an enchanting legend associated with this temple. According to folklore, when the monk Uisang came to Dang, a dynasty of China for academics, then he met with lady Seonmyo. She fell in love with him, but because he was a Buddhist monk who confirms as to be man of god, their love was never to be. Having reached a state of profound enlightenment, Uisang had to return by ship to Silla. In despair at losing her beloved, Seonmyo threw herself into the sea, becoming a dragon and protecting the monk on his journey home. Receiving a task from king to build temples in Korea, Uisang came back in order to construct temple. But during construction of the temple, many pagans apparently tried to stop Uisang from completing his task. Just as failure seemed imminent, the dragon Seonmyo appeared, emerging from under a giant stone and defeating the pagans. The stone – located near the main temple – is now known as Buseok, meaning ‘floating rock’. Legend adds that since the stone was flat and broad, the temple was given the name of Buseoksa Temple.
At the top of hill there is a main building of Buseoksa Temple called Muryangsujeon, a wooden building made in the Goryeo Dynasty, which impressed us with spectacular curved lines, and inside interior with big, gold Buddhist figure.
One the left side from main temple, there was that flat stone that believed to be thrown by Seonmyo dragon. Near stone there were three Buddhist figures, representing Buddhist religion.
I would like to say that Youngju trip helped us really to experience the real Korean traditional culture, to get know its values, beliefs, and to understand the cultural importance. Living in the Korean Folk Village helped us to experience the customs and lifestyles of past generations of Korean that have been faithfully maintained without impairment and various lifestyles prevalent during the Dynasties. And visiting Buseoksa Temple brought us the feeling of great history of Korea and its heritage values. I really admired Korean culture and appreciate its long history and spiritual value.

B-Boy Performance!

If you dance like B-Boy does, then you are cool!^^
That is what I can say after watching amazing show from B-boy band! International Summer program gave us a chance to watch B-boy performance. B-boy it is a name of Break-dance group. Young and talent guys who are so good at break and hip-hop dancing with the beautiful trio of ballerinas created an amazing show involving classical and modern styles. The show lasted 1.30 hours and all the time everyone was so excited, admiring the dance movements and acting skills of dancers. That was indescribable experience. Thanks to Summer school! ^^

Samsung Factory Field Trip!
When you hear about Korea, probably first thoughts that come to your mind are SAMSUNG, LG, DEAWOO, and HUINDAI. To make you to understand what is world Class Corporation, you need to experience its physical existence and value personally. This chance is available with the help of SKKU’s International Summer School. “Business, Culture and Technology in East Asia” it is what International Summer School in SKKU 2008 says. One of the field trips that were organized for us is Samsung Factory Field trip. We visited Samsung Electronics headquarter that is in Suwon. It takes about 1 hour to get there. The purpose of this trip was to provide general background about Samsung. But what we get was more than just basic description. First we were shown a presentation about Samsung Company, its products, market share, the most successful branch operating, its mission and goals, its values, norms and working culture. Also we were introduced to Recruitment and selection processes, its requirements; I think that was the most interesting part for students, who probably were considering about working in such huge international company, and of course the criterias the company look for are essential tips for future career planning of any student. After presentation we had open discussions about how company succeeded, what are key points of operating for the company. We also discussed latest news about Samsung from press-media, and we directly could found out its future product releasing and plans.
I think that was really great opportunity for us to get know what is a big corporation is and what are the requirements must company meet in order to succeed on the market. After discussions, we were brought to Samsung Museum, where we were introduced to its products, from its oldest to its newest; we even were shown the products that haven’t been appeared on the market yet. That was really cool for us to see. We really enjoyed our visit to Samsung Company; I think it was really helpful for us to understand the business environment in Korea.

2008 SKKU Summer Night Party
Pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza!!!!
By this slogan SKKU summer night party 2008, there were organized several parties for International Summer school students.
First party was about meeting people and enjoying Pizza! We really enjoyed this party. Music with cool DJ, active and enthusiastic people from all over the world, drinks, pizza, games, that is all about our party time. In such events you more interact with multicultural environment, sharing ideas and same interests. The party was sponsored by Domino Pizza (CEO OH, Kwang-hyun).

Lets’ enjoy Summer Night Party 2!!!
A second party was about trying Korean general traditional food, meeting people and just have fun enjoying international environment. I think that was really cool that Summer school held these kinds of events, because usually at parties it’s easier to interact with society and exchange cultures. The atmosphere is free for understanding values of different cultures and its relationship to values. We really enjoyed party time!!!^^

Farewell Party! Don’t want to say bye=(

I can’t believe that International Summer School is over. The time was flying by so fast.
I think everyone felt so sad to say bye to professors, to Summer School staff, to friends that became so close even though it was just one month period.
Although it was last day, Summer School staff tried to do the best in order to make this day as one of unforgettable memories in our life.
Graduation Ceremony.
The official part of Farewell party was Graduation Ceremony. 32 representatives of countries were asked to come to the stage, to get certificates and to shake hands with faculty and directors of Summer School program, such as Vice-president of Sungkyunkwan University and International Office staff.
We were watching International Summer School SKKU 2008 video; we were shown field trips, Summer School activities, lectures time, party time, and just all good memories from Summer School. Also professors with their speech thanked us for coming to that program and they said that not only we as students learnt from professors, but also they learnt a lot from us, experiencing diversified culture, and obtaining knowledge about each country.
Farewell Party.

After Graduation Ceremony we were invited to have last dinner altogether, to take memory pictures and spend some time with professors and friends, saying them good bye. Well, it is really sad that it is an end of Summer School.
It was unforgettable experience, and I’m really thankful to Sungkyunkwan University for organizing such program, and giving us an opportunity to feel the concepts of unique origin, unique future of university by itself and concept of International Summer School 2008 of “Business, Culture, and Technology in East Asia.”
That was one of the most unforgettable events in my life, and if I have chance to participate in this program again, I’ll definitely come and do that!
International Summer School SKKU 2008 in hearts of more that 500 people.
Thank you, SKKU!!^^^^