Hien My Le, '24, Sociology, KI Undergraduate Summer Language Study Grant at Ewha EISC (Tuition Waiver), Summer 2024

I had one of the best summers of my life attending the Ewha International Summer College, with the generous funding from Korea Institute under the Undergraduate Language Grant.

This past summer was not my first time in Korea – I had been there a few times earlier to conduct field work for my senior thesis (also with the unparalleled financial support from KI) – however, it marked the first time I could truly experience the vibrance of the city of Seoul without the looming burden of meeting some academic goals and expectations.

Therefore, this past summer taught me to retrace the purest joy of learning. I enrolled in two courses, and I was able to learn just for the sake of learning. For the first course, I got placed into the highest level of Korean language offered as part of the program, and had a fun time practicing my conversational skills and picking up some new grammar points. For the content course, this summer again provided me with the opportunity to try out something I had never done before, which is to enroll in an economics class. Specifically, I took the Money and Banking class taught by Professor Peter Cho, who – as a first time-lecturer nonetheless – effortlessly brought to life for me a first-time economics student many unfamiliar concepts with many insightful stories of his time in the Assets Management industry. For a hard-core sociology student who used to shy away from economics-related topics due to my lack of belief in my ability to deal with money and big numbers, Professor Cho and his class introduced to me a different perspective and vantage point from which to observe and make sense of the world. I also received extra encouragement to make judicious choices with my finances and better prepare myself in the wake of this increasingly tumultuous world characterized by geopolitics and trade wars.

Also, studying at Ewha in particular and socializing around the Sinchon area – the hub of youthful activities – in general – enabled me to live up to my springtime of life to the fullest. I spent weekends picnicking along the Han river, listening to busking at Hongdae, and sampling street food at Dongdaemun.

My most endearing memory of this past summer probably was the opportunity to reunite with old friends who I was lucky to cross paths with and to see that many of them are living happily and well. Together, we were even able to do some day-trips outside of the metropolitan Seoul, venturing out to Gyeongi for bird-watching, or having fun at the Lotte World amusement park.

Seoul, in a sense, cradled me in my youngest and wildest days, accompanying my sometimes seemingly fruitless and frustrating pursuit of the Barber tower of knowledge. But this time I came back, more mature and more at peace with myself and somehow more confident about the path forward, the city emerged as vibrant and energetic as ever, sending me off with the best wishes for a new chapter ahead.

I thank you once again Korea Institute and dedicated staff for making all of this possible!

Supported by the Ewha Womans University-International Summer College Tuition Waiver Program at the Harvard Korea Institute