The Ewha Voice previously introduced the newly arranged Self-designed Ewha Overseas Program in the Volume 59, Number 11 issue on Nov. 18, 2013. This program began its very first recruitment from Oct. 10 to Nov. 15, 2013. It differs from other overseas programs in that students have the opportunity to plan their own expedition. The first six teams selected for the program have successfully finished their expedition during winter break. In this issue, the Ewha Voice will cover the overseas experiences of the three teams among them in-depth.
Introducing Ewha Overseas Program
Self-designed Ewha Overseas Program run by the Student Service Center (SCC) allows students to plan their own expedition.
“The aim of this program is to let students take one step closer to being a global leader,” said Kim Ji-eun, the official at the SSC who is in charge of the program.
The six teams were selected through a tough competition rate of 14.5 to 1. The Ewha Voice have selected three teams and traced back their journey during winter break: the E-muses, Ewha ODA, Co-Munity.
Ewha ODA explores Korea’s educational ODA in Southeast Asia
The only nation that transformed from receiving aid to giving it: this one phrase inspired the minds of four students and thus created the Ewha ODA team. Won La-in (Educational Technology, 4), Jang Yoon-young (Business, 4), Choi Ye-jee (Psychology, 4) and Kim Ha-young (Psychology, 4) traveled to Cambodia, Thailand and Laos under the theme of exploration of official development assistance (ODA) in the field of education in Southeast Asia.
Ewha ODA researched about Korea’s ODA businesses taking place in Southeast Asian countries, pondered about better directions for future ODA businesses and how university students should view ODA.
Due to thorough planning and preparation beforehand, the team had little difficulties during their trip. However, there was a significant problem for this team: safety.
“In Thailand, situations were getting rough because of anti-government demonstrations,” Won said. “Both the team members and the school were extremely worried. A couple of days before going to Thailand, we even received a call from the school advising us not to go there at all.”
Overcoming such hardships and continuing their journey, members of Ewha ODA experienced unforgettable moments such as meeting elite university students in each country who were eager to contribute to their countries’ growth and curious about Korea’s know-hows, and visiting the Ewha Social Service in Cambodia.
“I heard that Ewha having a community welfare center in Cambodia is an exceptional case,” Choi said. “It was admirable to see the workers working hard and constantly struggling for the people in the country. That day, all of us kept saying that we are so proud of our school.”
All in all, Ewha ODA successfully finished their expedition of 12 days while experiencing the special meaning of the program first-hand.
“I think there are two meanings in the name ‘self-design,’” Won and Choi said. “The original meaning is that the team members select the topic and plan the trip by themselves. The other meaning we felt along the way is that the members design their own selves because we become influenced in each of our career paths or life styles through such visits.”