Korea

Nan Kim
MU in Seoul at Ewha University, Summer 2002

"Hello, my name is Nan Kim. I will be a senior in the College of Business, majoring in management. I went to Korea for Study Abroad in the summer of 2002 at Ewha Womens University. It was after my freshmen year. I took 7 credit hours of humanities, and electives. One of the courses that I took was "Study of Contemporary Korea." It was a 1 credit hour course, and they rented a bus to take all of the students on a field trip. We made pottery, looked around a historical city, went to a theatre to see a musical "Nanta", etc. Nanta is a musical like "Stomp." A couple of my American friends who were in the program with me experienced "dog meat" cuisine. They wanted to try eating dog meat! They told me that at their first bite, they almost got sick. Later on, however, they finished it, and said they liked it. It was very surprising to me because I had grown up in Korea, but never eaten dog meat. It is supposed to be really good for your health, especially in the summer time when everyone is exhausted from the heat.

"I was lucky enough to be in Korea for the 2002 World Cup. I saw an incredible amount of people being crazy and enthusiastic about soccer. Almost everyone in Korea cheered for the team, smiled, and cried together. Especially since Korea did so well that year. Hanging around Ewha University was also a lot of fun. Right outside of Ewha, there is a street with many cute clothing stores, accessory stores, nail arts, etc. Lots of girls come here from other areas for clothes shopping. I also got to taste lots of Korean street food around Ewha and it was delicious. I had Thuck-Bo-Ki, which is basically a rice stick in spicy and sweet sauce. This was one of the best and spiciest foods that I had. Kim-Bop and Kim-Chi were also some of my favorites. It was a short summer at Ewha, but I had a great opportunity to experience the Korean culture, and actual Korean college. The program was combined with a variety of activities and classes so that we could experience many things in a short amount of time." Email: Nanyoung77@yahoo.com.

Genn Ia Kim
MU in Seoul at Ewha University, Academic Year 2002-2003

"Studying abroad is a great experience, especially when it's done in South Korea! Here at MU, I am majoring in education, so I was a bit concerned initially about trying to study abroad. However, after the experience, I can honestly say it was worth it. Meeting new friends from different countries and learning about their different cultures really expanded my perspective on life, and I even found my best friend on the program! Although she is half way around the world now, she is always near to my heart.

"While in Korea, I was able to witness a traditional tea ceremony, which was really interesting, and also managed to run into many Americans on the streets of Seoul (due in part to the presence of the U.S. army base there). However, the Korean students are also really happy to talk with you because they are trying to learn English and get a better understanding of American culture. I hope that everyone else thinking about studying in Korea can have as great an experience as I had, or an even better one! All in all, just studying abroad and learning about a different culture is a great way to see that there is more to this world than Columbia, MO.

"If you're thinking about studying abroad in Korea and have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me: gikcz3@mizzou.edu."