I learned so much about Korea and myself during the past three weeks. The quality of the lectures, teachers, field trips made the experience even more meaningful. What stood out to me was powerful South Korea is today. It has only been less than 50 years since they got their independence and the country was able to rise up and be a developed country. We learned how important education is to the Koreans; it is the key to wealth and success. I saw senior students at our host university studying morning and night for the teacher exam. They really do study hard. Other than university education, I was shocked to experience the hagwon that we visited. That hagwon wasn’t just how I expected from what I read in the books and discussions we had in class. What stood out to me was learning how to actually do some Korean culture activities and understand why those things are embedded into the culture as well as the purpose of education. For example, the game of “towel rolling” is played as part of hinting someone that you like them by placing the towel behind the person. This game is similar to duck duck grey duck/goose. Another benefit to this game is to improve physical fitness level, social, cognitive, and physiological development. I think physical education is important in education since students study majority of the time. Going studying abroad for the first time in South Korea is one of the most precious learning experiences I’ve ever had.
