Cyprien Matondo Mihalache, ’29, Neuroscience, Seoul National University International Summer Program (SNU-ISP) (Tuition Waiver), Summer 2026

Cyprien Matondo Mihalache, ’29, Neuroscience, Seoul National University International Summer Program (SNU-ISP) (Tuition Waiver), Summer 2026

This summer, I delved deeper into my interest in East Asian medical humanities through the Seoul National University International Summer Program supported by the Harvard Korea Institute. 

In my first class “Transnational Korean Media and Popular Culture,” I was particularly excited by the interconnectedness between digital K-pop fandoms, and online mental health support networks. I appreciated my professor’s reliance on an arsenal of written and cinematic works —ranging from “Seopyeonje,” “Shiri,” “Winter Sonata,” to “Crash Landing on You,” and “Parasite”—to trace the evolution of Hallyu as a cultural phenomenon that has started to fuel parasocial interactions of affective care among diverse and geographically-distant fans. As a Neuroscience concentrator, the class offered me a novel and enriching perspective on how the arts and culture can transform digital spaces into meaningful places of social connection.

In my second class entitled “First Steps in Programming Your Humanoid AI Robot,” I learned about the fields of kinematics, deep learning, and machine learning, and explored the mechanics of K-pop choreographies. I enjoyed the professor’s emphasis on hands-on learning experiences which included assembling our robot parts and collaborating with peers to get through daily Python coding exercises. As our final project, my team developed an AI Dance Evaluator multiplayer game that scored how well a player copied a famous K-pop move and offered advice on improving performance to enhance one’s health.

In my free time, I experienced Hanbang hands-on at the Seoul K-Medi Center, explored Olive Young shops observing beauty and health products marketing campaigns, and had the opportunity to ask K-Medicine doctors questions at the Harvard Club of Korea.

As a mixed-media artist and ballroom dancer, I was inspired by South Korea’s expansive arts scene, which I explored after classes. The several artworks about the stages of medical treatment I contemplated at the Amorepacific Museum of Art, the Daejeon Museum of Art, or Yonsei University’s Severance Hospital—for instance Seunghwa Jeom’s “Em-brace”—deepened my appreciation for the interconnectivity between art and healthcare. These activities inspired me to use the educational experience offered by the Harvard Korea Institute to further develop my creative entrepreneurship.

Learning in Korea, a country I had never visited before, motivated me to create an art therapy program called Wheels of Art that pairs Harvard student artists and children using mobility devices, with the goal of customizing their wheelchairs: the creative insights I gathered in South Korea were indispensable to the program’s creation and implementation at Shriners Children’s this fall, with the help of the Director of Programs at the Harvard Office for the Arts Angie Durrell, alum Jim Augustine, and Brian Dygon.

My summer abroad transformed my perception of East Asian medical humanities as a fascinating example of how tradition and modernity coexist—and the unique healthcare challenges the global popularity of Korean culture creates. I am excited to continue exploring the facets of Korea, by taking EASTD 97ab (Introduction to the Study of East Asia: Issues and Methods) in the spring and KORLIT 141 (K is for Korea: Reading a Culture through Pages, Soundscapes, and Images), pursing a potential joint concentration in Neuroscience and East Asian Studies.