Chunma International Summer School, Study Korea 7 Hours a Day
Various cultural experiences such as pottery, etiquette, temple stay, etc
[July 16, 2010]
Afternoon on the 15th at 'Dosan Korean Etiquette Institute' located in Daebong-dong, Jung-gu, Daegu. About a dozen foreigners are busily taking photos wearing the hanbok (traditional Korean clothes) as traditional music gently flows. Girls who are wearing the daeryebok (full-dress uniform) for the first time in their life repeat the word "beautiful", and the young men who are wearing durumagi (traditional overcoat) and tanggeon (horsehair scullcap worn under hats) for some reason show mature behavior.
They are all foreign students attending the 'Chunma International Summer School' (hereafter referred to as 'summer school') this summer break at Yeungnam University (president Lee, Hyo-soo). At this summer school, which was offered to introduce Korea's culture, history, society and economy to the youth around the world, is being participated by 13 foreign students from the US, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, Tanzania, Tunisia and China.
They are busy learning about Korea for 7 hours a day, Monday through Friday beginning from the 28th of last month to the 25th of this month, focusing on the current affairs of the Korean society, tradition and culture of Korea, global economic issues, etc.
After classes, the students participate in various extracurricular activities such as pottery, wearing hanbok, etiquette class, tea ceremony, natural dyeing, making kimchi, etc for hands-on experience of Korean traditional culture, and also visit historical sites such as Gyeongju and Jeonju to see and learn the history of Korea. They also get a touch of the spiritual culture that flows around the lives of Koreans through home-stays at Korean homes, and through temple-stays at Unmunsa Temple in Cheongdo, Gyeongbuk. Upon completion of this short-term program, they receive 6 credits.
Joshua Campbell (22), who is majoring in international studies at the University of Nebraska, Omaha in the US, said, "I thought Koreans only said 'hurry, hurry', but after living here in Korea I learned that they are quite patient, considerate and know how to wait. I am learning the 'beauty of slowness' here in Korea during my summer break." He added, "I would like to come to Yeungnam University as an exchange student during a regular school term and really learn about Korea."
Gharbi Mohamed (30), who majors in business administration at the University of Tunis, stated, "Interest of Korea has probably risen in Africa because of the World Cup in South Africa," and added, "I will enroll in Korean language courses at Yeungnam University from the fall semester, and I hope that in the long-run I can contribute in promoting interchange between Korea and Africa."
Meanwhile, the Yeungnam University School of International Studies, which offers summer school programs for the first time this year, is planning to expand them in the future so that more foreign students from more countries can have the opportunity to learn about Korea.
