For the Beijing program, which continued from December 28 to January 4, 19 students from diverse backgrounds such as Business, Painting, and Information Electronics Engineering traveled with Professor Lee Jeong-hoon (Chinese) for a week-long program. “The aim was to understand Beijing’s potential as the center of the world and combine it with what was taught in class,” said Professor Lee. 500,000 won out of the total participation fee of 800,000 won per student was covered by the Office of Global Affairs. Participants met Korean professionals in Beijing from several different fields such as the Vice President of Samsung China, the Beijing Office Manager at Korea Creative Content Agency, the Deputy General Manager at Korean Air, the General Manager of Woori Bank China, and the Vice President of Hyundai Insurance China. Each had a tactic to share on helping Koreans survive in the hectic Chinese market. Ryu Jae-yun, the current Vice President in Strategic Planning & Corporate Communications Team in Samsung China Headquarters, a Chinese major and veteran who resided in Beijing for over a decade, highlighted the importance of knowing Chinese literature. “Many can speak Chinese well, but, there are few who have studied Chinese art, literature, and history. To be friends with the Chinese, we must know their culture in detail.” Patrick Ryoo, General Manager, Treasury Department of Woori Bank China and Kim Hong-keun, Vice President of Hyundai Insurance China, greeted students in a coffee shop near Wudaokou, a popular downtown area. They described the kind of people who executives welcome into their companies. “Financial companies look for honesty as they deal with huge amounts of customer’s money,” said Kim. Not only that, but also Ewha graduates welcomed students in Beijing. Jin So hyun (‘96, Chinese) works as a Deputy General Manager, Passenger Regional Headquarters, China, Korean Air shared tips on balancing her work and her family. Jin, who is living with her little son apart from her husband staying in Seoul, told students good and bad sides of being a working mom. “Sometimes I feel lonely and sorry to my son as I can’t take care of him like other housewives. But, I am very much satisfied with what I do. If there is something that you want so badly, then, keep preparing for it. Then, with a bit of luck, you can achieve it at the end and never regret.” Later, awkward barriers between students and the faculty broke away when Professor Lee and two assistants, Park Sun-young and Kim Joo-hyun, helped students order Chinese fast food in the middle of the night. “We were famished after spending hours talking and giggling with our roommates. We thought about ordering something, and, since we didn’t have a cell phone, we ran to the professor,” said Shin Sun-ha (Law, 3). “We were not sure how he would react. He seemed puzzled at first. But, soon he called the restaurant.” Students also had a chance to communicate with Chinese students when Professor Lee scheduled a meeting with students majoring in Korean at the Beijing Second Foreign Language University on New Year’s Eve. Students spent a couple of hours just introducing themselves over lattes, and moved to Xidan, a street full of shopping centers. Two Ewha students got lost on an overcrowded street, bringing the trip to a stop. The students made it back to the hotel by showing their hotel room card to the taxi driver in the end. As well as the lost students, it was an unforgettable night for the rest of the students, as they had searched for the missing students for over two hours with the Chinese students. To show their love and appreciation for the two assistants on the tour, on the last night in Beijing, the students gathered to embroider socks with special signs. Some embroidered the assistants’ initials while some embroidered the Chinese letter meaning love. Both assistants really liked the presents and after coming back to Korea, Kim even wore the socks and uploaded a picture on their community internet café. “After seven days in Beijing, Chinese majoring students could see a necessity to study deeper in Chinese literature to understand the fast growing society. The rest could also come to understand that whatever field they work in, China is an inevitable factor,” said Professor Lee. “Throughout the program, I had the opportunity to understand deeply about what I want to do in the future that may be related to China. I am going to learn Chinese from now on,” said Seo In-hyo (Scranton, 2)
The Faculty-led Study Abroad Program at Ewha, which started in the summer of 2009, offers financial support for student groups to study abroad with professors. Programs last for one to two weeks and take place anywhere in the world under any academic topic. For the Beijing program, which continued from December 28 to January 4, 19 students from diverse backgrounds such as Business, Painting, and Information Electronics Engineering traveled with Professor Lee Jeong-hoon (Chinese) for a week-long program. “The aim was to understand Beijing’s potential as the center of the world and combine it with what was taught in class,” said Professor Lee. 500,000 won out of the total participation fee of 800,000 won per student was covered by the Office of Global Affairs. Participants met Korean professionals in Beijing from several different fields such as the Vice President of Samsung China, the Beijing Office Manager at Korea Creative Content Agency, the Deputy General Manager at Korean Air, the General Manager of Woori Bank China, and the Vice President of Hyundai Insurance China. Each had a tactic to share on helping Koreans survive in the hectic Chinese market. Ryu Jae-yun, the current Vice President in Strategic Planning & Corporate Communications Team in Samsung China Headquarters, a Chinese major and veteran who resided in Beijing for over a decade, highlighted the importance of knowing Chinese literature. “Many can speak Chinese well, but, there are few who have studied Chinese art, literature, and history. To be friends with the Chinese, we must know their culture in detail.” Patrick Ryoo, General Manager, Treasury Department of Woori Bank China and Kim Hong-keun, Vice President of Hyundai Insurance China, greeted students in a coffee shop near Wudaokou, a popular downtown area. They described the kind of people who executives welcome into their companies. “Financial companies look for honesty as they deal with huge amounts of customer’s money,” said Kim. Not only that, but also Ewha graduates welcomed students in Beijing. Jin So hyun (‘96, Chinese) works as a Deputy General Manager, Passenger Regional Headquarters, China, Korean Air shared tips on balancing her work and her family. Jin, who is living with her little son apart from her husband staying in Seoul, told students good and bad sides of being a working mom. “Sometimes I feel lonely and sorry to my son as I can’t take care of him like other housewives. But, I am very much satisfied with what I do. If there is something that you want so badly, then, keep preparing for it. Then, with a bit of luck, you can achieve it at the end and never regret.” Later, awkward barriers between students and the faculty broke away when Professor Lee and two assistants, Park Sun-young and Kim Joo-hyun, helped students order Chinese fast food in the middle of the night. “We were famished after spending hours talking and giggling with our roommates. We thought about ordering something, and, since we didn’t have a cell phone, we ran to the professor,” said Shin Sun-ha (Law, 3). “We were not sure how he would react. He seemed puzzled at first. But, soon he called the restaurant.” Students also had a chance to communicate with Chinese students when Professor Lee scheduled a meeting with students majoring in Korean at the Beijing Second Foreign Language University on New Year’s Eve. Students spent a couple of hours just introducing themselves over lattes, and moved to Xidan, a street full of shopping centers. Two Ewha students got lost on an overcrowded street, bringing the trip to a stop. The students made it back to the hotel by showing their hotel room card to the taxi driver in the end. As well as the lost students, it was an unforgettable night for the rest of the students, as they had searched for the missing students for over two hours with the Chinese students. To show their love and appreciation for the two assistants on the tour, on the last night in Beijing, the students gathered to embroider socks with special signs. Some embroidered the assistants’ initials while some embroidered the Chinese letter meaning love. Both assistants really liked the presents and after coming back to Korea, Kim even wore the socks and uploaded a picture on their community internet café. “After seven days in Beijing, Chinese majoring students could see a necessity to study deeper in Chinese literature to understand the fast growing society. The rest could also come to understand that whatever field they work in, China is an inevitable factor,” said Professor Lee. “Throughout the program, I had the opportunity to understand deeply about what I want to do in the future that may be related to China. I am going to learn Chinese from now on,” said Seo In-hyo (Scranton, 2)
