Ewha-Harvard Summer School Program

        The Ewha-Harvard Summer School Program ended its five-week schedule with a closing ceremony on July 31. Ewha is the sole collaborating partner in selected byHarvardUniversityfor the 2009 Harvard Summer School(also known as the Ewha-Harvard Summer School Program). This was the fourth time that the program was held. The Ewha Graduate School of International Studies and the Harvard Summer School hosted the event. The program started on June 29 with a total of 30 students, 14 Harvard students, 11 Ewha students and five students from other Korean universities.

The program consisted of a main course titled “Adventures in Early Korean History and Archaeology,” given by Professor Mark Edward Byington (Harvard University) and several excursions on weekends, which were intended to introduce the Korean culture and history as well as to encourage students’ interaction. Harvard students also took Korean language courses.

         Korean students were strongly recommended to stay at theEwhaGraduateSchooldormitory and were paired with foreign students.

"I didn't expect much at first but was surprised how Korean students and American students were really getting along at the end,” said Park Sang-hyun (HarvardUniversity, 2).

Excursions to Kyungju and Iksan, as well as hotspots ofSeoulwere all part of the learning experience of Korean culture and history.

“I build life-long friendships and discovered more about my ethnic-identity and began to appreciate being a part of the Korean culture," said Eason Hahm (HarvardUniversity, 2).

Hwang Hee-jin (HarvardUniversity, 2) also commented on the new Korean culture that she discovered during her stay of six weeks.

“I learned an essential decisive Korean characteristic through this program: that a simple game of rock, scissors, paper can basically resolve any issue within half a minute. Now if only this phenomenon caught on internationally,” said Hwang.

            Korean students who participated in the program also found it as an opportunity to exchange ideas and broaden their views on Korean history and the world.

“Studying through the nights together with Harvard students, I realized how we all have the same passion toward learning. It was also a chance to learn Korean history from a different perspective,” said Kim Soo-jin (Social Science Education, 4).

         “Through this program, I learned how to cope with people of different backgrounds, to overcome difficult situations, to enjoy joyful moments, and, most importantly, how to say goodbye,” said An Sang-hee (Molecular and Life Sciences, 2).

“As a guy, living in Ewha was quite a unique experience,” said Kim Se-jin (SeoulUniversity, 4).

      The Harvard Summer School in will continue next year. However, this year was the last for Ewha to host as the sole collaborator. Next year, Harvard is going to hold an open competition for Korean universities to bid for the program.