Korea University: Students from around the World Meet Again Offline
Despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the KU International Summer Campus (ISC), Asia’s biggest international summer school, began its journey over the summer at Korea University.
On June 28, 10 a.m., Korea University hosted the 2022 ISC Entrance Ceremony and Orientation at Inchon Memorial Hall. During the ceremony, ISC students were provided with useful information about academic affairs and campus life. They were also given the opportunity to have firsthand experience with the university’s signature cheering movements guided by the KU cheering squad.
Since it opened its doors in 2004, the International Summer Campus of Korea University has continued its steady growth trend to position itself as the largest international short-term education program in Asia. This year, the 2022 KU ISC was participated in by around 1,600 undergraduate, graduate and precollege students from about 300 universities in 62 countries including the US, UK, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and China. By offering these classes both online and offline, the ISC broadened the options for students allowing them to choose classes delivered the way they wanted. At the same time, the summer school increased the ratio of offline classes so that students could choose to have face-to-face interactions with instructors and peer students in classes.
In this year’s ISC, the university’s newly opened special Koreanology course ‘Korean Culture and Society’ stands out. Among the ISC participants, those undergraduate and graduate students who meet the qualifications for course completion will be granted the course completion certificate in the form of a digital badge and scholarships.
During the summer school, a total of 90 courses in business, economics, liberal arts, science, and Korean language will be offered in English by the ISC faculty, organized with professors from Korea University and prestigious global universities including Cornell University in the US, the University of Nottingham in the UK, and the Australian National University and the University of Sydney in Australia.
Accompanying these academic courses, Korea University prepared a buddy assistant program through which students currently enrolled at KU and the ISC students can build friendships and have chances to learn global etiquette. For students from abroad, the buddy program has been known to help quick adaption to unfamiliar environments in a country distinct from their homelands.
The ISC students are offered chances to learn from academic courses taught in English by top-notch professors as well as opportunities to experience Korean culture through the culture program prepared by the university: K-pop flash mob, K-cooking, Nanta, and Taekwondo. In addition, offline internship opportunities in the real world are provided to help the ISC participants explore their future careers.
Professor Eric Yongstrom from the University of North Carolina delivered his speech at the ceremony on behalf of the ISC professors. “It is the 13th year since I came to Korea. Here, you will learn and experience a lot. Are you all familiar with how vaccines work? Vaccination would deliberately make you ill for a while, but in the end you will get immune and become stronger. This is exactly what happens with your muscles when you exercise. It’s the principle of exercise, too. This summer, you will find the same principles applied during your stay in Korea where you will learn the culture and history of Korea. This summer is the chance that you can learn how to become a better version of yourself. I love myself experiencing all this diversity and innovative ambience. I am so glad that I can be here at the Korea University International Summer Campus with you for this amazing summer,” he said.
Lee Hi-kyoung , Head of the Office of International Affairs and Dean of the International Summer Campus, addressed the ceremony. “Even during the pandemic, our university proactively engaged students in other countries to participate in our summer and winter school programs by transforming the formats of ISC and IWC to e-ISC and e-IWC online, overcoming the physical limitations facing students. By doing so, we turned the crisis into a stepping stone for another takeoff. The 2022 ISC was thoroughly prepared based on our accumulated knowhow and educational infrastructure to accommodate the varied demands of global students. As we successfully start the 2022 ISC now, to take the lead in the education industry in the post-pandemic era, we will focus on providing high-level and high-quality programs to live up to our reputation as the best summer school in Asia.”