2013 Ewha ICSC : David Hafferty

Over June and July of this year, thanks to the Korea Institute and Asia Center at Harvard University, I was able to study the Korean language at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Republic of Korea. With the tuition waiver, I enrolled in two courses during Ewha’s International Coed Summer School. It was my first significant international experience and it is certainly one that I will never forget. Not only was my time tremendously important with respect to developing my Korean language skills, but it was also an amazing introduction to a culture foreign to me in every possible way, and a personal validation that I could indeed survive in a different country.
Ewha International Coed Summer Program was conducted very well. The staff was helpful, the dorms were comfortable, and the course catalogue was extensive. I knew from the time of my application that I wanted to study Korean language, and with my other course I decided to learn about something in which I had no previous experience: Asian Cinema. The cinema course was a fascinating opportunity to learn about the way an academic approaches a film. The class hours I valued most were in the language classroom. I don’t have a lot of experience studying languages. Therefore, I was surprised in the difference in approaches between the Harvard and Ewha programs. At Ewha, we focused on a lot of vocabulary, which was helpful because the vocabulary was generally topical and could be put into use immediately during my stay. However, only learning new words did not make me feel like I was learning more about the language itself. So, the experience helped me to understand how I learn most efficiently and how I will continue to approach my Korean study as I work on my own, which I definitely will.
Although my time at Ewha is over, I do not feel like my time in Korea is. Although it was certainly difficult to adjust to being an unmistakable outsider, I love the culture, the nightlife, and the landscape. During my time in Seoul and my short experiences outside the capitol, I got the feeling the people wanted to be outside seeing new things and having new experiences; this is something I want to try to do more, especially as I prepare to move to a new place and start a new life and career. I applied for the Ewha tuition waiver because I wanted to prolong my formal study of the language, but I can now say that I learned so much more about myself. For that, I will always be extremely grateful to the Korea Institute, Asia Center, and Harvard University.