News

Image of student, Charlene Hong, in Korea 2016

Charlene Hong, '17, Korea Institute Undergraduate Summer Research Travel Grant, Summer 2016

August 30, 2016

With the generous support of the Korea Institute Undergraduate Summer Research Travel Grant, I traveled to South Korea this summer and conducted research interviews in order to write my senior thesis for Social Studies on the political identities and activist attitudes of students at Korea’s top universities in Seoul. Immediately when I arrived in Seoul, I focused on first recruiting interviewees from members and officers of student councils. During Korea’s democratization period of the 1970s-1980s, students were the vanguards leaders of the protest, and many students were organized by...

Read more about Charlene Hong, '17, Korea Institute Undergraduate Summer Research Travel Grant, Summer 2016
Miranda Richman, '19, Harvard Summer School in Seoul Program, Summer 2016

Miranda Richman, '19, Harvard Summer School in Seoul Program, Summer 2016

August 30, 2016

I was told from the moment I got into the HSS program in Korea that I would have an unforgettable summer. As a freshman who had never experienced Harvard abroad, I had no sense of what to expect, but I realized very quickly that having fun was the natural result of the tireless energy that characterizes Seoul. And although I more fun this summer than ever before, in many ways, this program also pushed boundaries for me. It allowed me to put a finger on everything I should have learned about myself freshman year, every intense moment magnified by the brevity of the program. It taught me...

Read more about Miranda Richman, '19, Harvard Summer School in Seoul Program, Summer 2016
Headshot image of graduate student, Sungik Yang, in Korea 2016

A Graduate Student Perspective-Sungik Yang, G1, RSEA, KI Summer Research Grant, Summer 2016

August 30, 2016

I traveled to South Korea to acquire and read materials relating to my Master’s Thesis about the relationship between historiography and political ideology in contemporary South Korea. My plans for conducting research this summer were to travel to various libraries, museums, and research institutes to find publications on Korean history and to examine state narratives about Korea’s past.

With regards to academic historiographies, I visited libraries and bookstores in Seoul. I found core works of leftist and New Right historical viewpoints: Haebang chŏnhusa ŭi insik (...

Read more about A Graduate Student Perspective-Sungik Yang, G1, RSEA, KI Summer Research Grant, Summer 2016
Emily Choi, '19, Korea Institute Scholarship to attend SNU International Summer Institute (SNU ISI), Summer 2016

Emily Choi, '19, Korea Institute Scholarship to attend SNU International Summer Institute (SNU ISI), Summer 2016

August 26, 2016

Earlier this year, when I began to consider how I wanted to spend this summer, I came to a crossroads. I already knew that I wanted to travel. It was to where, though, that was giving me some trouble. In the end, I had to decide if I wanted to travel to a city in Europe or to Seoul, South Korea. Seoul seemed like the obvious choice, since my family is originally from Korea. Although I am ethnically Korean, I can speak no Korean and can understand very little. Longing to be able to communicate with my grandparents, who speak very little English, I applied for a scholarship to...

Read more about Emily Choi, '19, Korea Institute Scholarship to attend SNU International Summer Institute (SNU ISI), Summer 2016
Ishak Caner, '18, Summer Internship at CJ Entertainment & Media in Seoul, Korea, Summer 2016

Ishak Caner, '18, Summer Internship at CJ Entertainment & Media in Seoul, Korea, Summer 2016

August 26, 2016

I interned with the International Film Distribution and Sales team at CJ E&M this summer. I applied for the role because of the combination with my interest in business fields and my interest in Korea and potentially working in Korea in the future, as well as my particular interest in Korean entertainment.

Although I had been to Korea the summer before this one for Harvard Summer School in Seoul, I once again went to Korea this summer not knowing what to expect because I was going for work this time. Truth be told, all that I had heard...

Read more about Ishak Caner, '18, Summer Internship at CJ Entertainment & Media in Seoul, Korea, Summer 2016
Image of graduate student, Yung Hian Ng, in Korea 2016

A Graduate Student Perspective: KI Graduate Summer Language Grant Summer 2016, Yung Hian Ng, G1, RSEA

August 25, 2016

The Korea Institute Graduate Summer Language Study Grant provided me with a precious opportunity to enroll in the academic Korean language program at the recently established Inter-University Center for Korean Language Studies at Sungkyunkwan University. The program targets students who have completed level six of regular language institutes in Korea or equivalent, and aims to provide further studies to build academic vocabulary, develop presentation skills and enhance writing abilities. The content-based instruction culminates in a final presentation at the end of the semester where...

Read more about A Graduate Student Perspective: KI Graduate Summer Language Grant Summer 2016, Yung Hian Ng, G1, RSEA
Niamh Mulholland, '19, Korea Institute Undergraduate Summer Language Study Grant to Ewha (Tuition Waiver), Summer 2016

Niamh Mulholland, '19, Korea Institute Undergraduate Summer Language Study Grant to Ewha (Tuition Waiver), Summer 2016

August 25, 2016

Korea Institute Undergraduate Summer Language Study Grant to Ewha, Summer 2016

I applied to the KI Summer Language Study Grant with the hope of improving my Korean language skills, after having completed one year of Korean at Harvard. I would describe my summer in Korea to be the most exciting and culture-rich experience I’ve had during my time at Harvard. The chance to meet and befriend Korean students is a large part of what made the immersion into a completely different culture not only easier but a hundred...

Read more about Niamh Mulholland, '19, Korea Institute Undergraduate Summer Language Study Grant to Ewha (Tuition Waiver), Summer 2016
Image of graduate student, Hyeok Hweon Kang, in Korea 2016

A Graduate Student Perspective: KI Summer Research Grant Summer 2016, Hyeok Hweon Kang, G4, Korean History/East Asian Languages (HEAL)

August 23, 2016

Thanks to the generous support of the Korea Institute, I spent three months in South Korea conducting research on my dissertation project, “From Warfare to Welfare: Security Policy and Military Urbanism in Chosŏn Korea,” a study of military institutions and their impact on commerce, urban expansion and social change in the late Chosŏn period (1600-1910). My summer research focused mainly on examining the Jangseogak Archives, but also included field trips to Kyŏngsang and Ch'ungch'ŏng provinces and a three-week translation workshop at the Academy of Korean Studies.

In July and...

Read more about A Graduate Student Perspective: KI Summer Research Grant Summer 2016, Hyeok Hweon Kang, G4, Korean History/East Asian Languages (HEAL)