Every year as the spring semester comes to an end, the SNU Office of International Affairs (OIA) prepares to welcome a new cohort of the SNU International Summer Program (ISP). The ISP is a five-week intensive program that invites both undergraduate and graduate students from around the world to study at SNU. It is an opportunity for students to not only experience academic life at SNU but more broadly experience Korean culture and society through the program’s extra-curricular activities. Since being launched in 2007, more than 5,000 students globally have participated in the ISP, with the number of participants increasing every year. This year, the ISP ran from June 24 to July 27.
2024 ISP participants during their lectures
2024 ISP participants during their lectures
Experiencing Academic Life at SNU
The ISP holds over 30 courses that cover a wide range of disciplines from AI engineering to traditional Korean culture. The lectures are conducted in English and taught by both SNU faculty members and professors from other universities who are leading figures in their field of research. Participants can take up to three courses, or nine credits, and select any course they are interested in as long as there are no scheduling conflicts. This freedom in choosing classes has allowed students to explore their interests and further their understanding of their majors. Wong Chen Yi, an ISP participant from Nanyang Technological University, for example, has taken Introduction to Psychology and Aerobiology: The study of life in the air this summer. While the course on aerobiology allowed him to extend knowledge on his major, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, the psychology course was an opportunity for him to venture into an academic disciple he had always had an interest in but had not had a chance to explore.
In recent years, some popular courses in the ISP have been Hallyu and Korean Mediaculture and Korean Art and Asian Painting. The popularity of these courses can be attributed to the increasing interest in Korean culture around the world. Students taking these courses delve into traditional and contemporary Korean culture and understand how Korea’s past has shaped its present social landscape.
2024 ISP participants at an ISP field trip
2024 ISP participants at an ISP field trip
Exploring Korea and its Contemporary Landscape
The ISP also offers extra-curricular activities and field trips to landmarks both within and outside of Seoul. One type of extra-curricular activity offered is one-day classes. Ran with the help of the SNU Center for Sport Development and Promotion, these one-day classes are a chance for students to learn Korean performative arts and sports such as taekwondo and K-pop dance. The aim is to introduce participants, albeit briefly, to Korean culture through hands-on learning.
The field trips have always been one of the highlights of the ISP. Conducted every Friday during each week of the program, they are designed to offer participants easier access to unique locations in Korea that may be difficult to visit individually. The field trips for this year’s program were Seoul City Tour and visits to Everland, Lotte World, and the DMZ. Jason Bacolor, a Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology student from NTU, mentioned the DMZ as his favorite field trip. Out of the four, it seemed like the location he would have been least likely to visit. “It was a strange yet interesting experience being somewhere I had only ever seen in the news,” he said, stating how he was glad to have gone.
The 2024 ISP participants
Through inviting students from all over the world, the ISP is a platform where participants can meet students from around the world while discovering the academic and social culture of Korea. If you are looking for a way to experience Korea intimately, this may be for you.
Written by Yeryoung Lee, SNU English Editor, yeryounglee@snu.ac.kr