Thanks to the Korea Institute’s generous support, I was able to attend the summer program of the Inter-University Center for Korean Language Studies at Sungkyunkwan University (IUC). This program, which was developed with graduate-level academics and professionals in mind, allowed me to spend my summer focusing on developing my academic Korean ability in preparation for future research.
During the Summer break, I spent most of the time conducting archival research at several institutions in Seoul, South Korea, including The National Library of Korea, The National Assembly Library, and Korean Film archive. My primary goal in this archival study was to collect relevant materials and data for my doctoral research project on “techno-fantasy” that had formed in the course of post-Korean War modernization. To facilitate this project, I needed concrete materials to shed light on how this kind of fantasy was enacted in South Korea’s visual culture in the 1960 and 70s. Thus, I...
At the moment I was applying for KI Summer Internship, I didn’t know a lot about politics, especially Korean politics. However, still I put it on my list because it was a revolutionary period in Korea politics, following the impeachment of the former president. Although I was born and raised in Korea, I had only a little interest in the realm of my country’s politics because of the prejudices regrading the government that most politicians are corrupt and it is hopeless to expect to gain from them. However, I thought it was the right, if not perfect, time to experience Korean politics as...
People often use the word “life-changing” to describe their time abroad. It always sounded like a cliché to me, but after my time in Seoul I understand why it is used so often to describe these experiences. To immerse oneself in a different culture is to unleash a wave of discoveries, both external and internal.
The time I spent in Seoul made up for much of the cultural knowledge I lacked growing up. I was a half Korean who did not speak a word of Korean, vaguely knew what Kimchi was, and had never considered the possibility of traveling to Korea. During my six weeks there,...
I applied to the Korea Institute Graduate Summer Research Grant to visit Presidential Archives in Sejong City, South Korea. Besides visiting Sejong City, I also conducted research at Kuksa-p'yŏnch'an-wiwŏnhoe (National Institute of Korean History library) located in Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do. The grant enabled me to travel to South Korea, pay for food and lodging, as well as cover internal transportation expenses during this crucial period of collecting material for preliminary dissertation research and preparing for dissertation prospectus writing the coming fall semester.
I traveled to South Korea this summer to access and acquire primary sources for my Master’s thesis. For the thesis, I planned to examine the culture of and social attitudes towards consumption in postwar (Korean War) South Korea. My plans for summer research included trips to the Rare Books Collection of Seoul National University, National Archives, and Korean Film Archive. During the summer, I was able to narrow my research topic down to a more tangible and specific form of consumption: the consumption of the typewriter in South Korea in the 1950’s.
For a couple of years prior to entering college, I was trying to teach myself Korea language. This was out of my interest in language learning as well the influence of having many Korean friends. Since there were no classes that I could take nearby or in school, I attempted to learn through books in the internet. This was not as successful as I had hoped, so I decided that once in college, I would study abroad in Korea to really force myself into learning this language. Once at Harvard, I was pleased and surprised to find KI’s unbelievably generous funding opportunities for summer study...
Whether you spent the summer in Korea or are thinking about going to Korea next summer, we welcome you to drop by the Korea Institute to learn about our upcoming events and resources that the Korea Institute offers. We very much look forward to getting to know you or reconnecting with you after you've returned. We are located in CGIS South 1730 Cambridge St. on the 2nd floor. The Korea Institute main office is located in room S228.
Please enjoy an article written by our Summer 2017 Korea Herald intern, Kai Potter, '19. It's about the new Understand Ave., Seoul Forest’s new hot spot!