The Office of Global Affairs (OGA) initiated its first Ewha Korean Culture Experience Program for international and foreign exchange students who are studying at Ewha on May 23 and 24. It was the first time the OGA hosted such program to take place outside the school grounds.
This semester, the OGA planned the new program with two different courses: The National Assembly Building tour and the Namsangol Hanok (Korean traditional house) Village tour.
The application forms were distributed to the international and foreign exchange students respectively through e-mails. Students then chose which course they wanted to attend and a total of 49 students applied.
“Instead of holding the annual Mini Olympics, we thought it would be better for students to experience the Korean culture by going on tours to places that represent Korea,” said Park Wan, the program coordinator in charge of Ewha Korean Culture Experience Program.
The first course of the program was a tour of the National Assembly Building on May 23. Thirty-nine students enjoyed the tour and learned about the history of Korea’s democracy and politics.
“It was interesting to compare the political system of Korea and that of America,” Jenny Jones (University of Utah, 4) said.
On the next day, 10 students participated in the Namsangol Hanok Village tour.
The OGA further plans to open another tour program next semester to promote students’ understanding of Korea.