Since 2006, the Ewha-Harvard Undergraduate Summer School program has been an essential educational exchange initiative for building friendships and fostering a deeper understanding of Korean culture and history.
In June 2024, 24 undergraduate students from Harvard University and Ewha Womans University set off on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. The Ewha-Harvard Undergraduate Summer School program brought together American, Korean, and international undergraduates for an eight-week academic immersion at Ewha Womans University. For some students, this was not only their first time in South Korea but also their first time abroad. For other students, this trip was a way to connect to their heritage through language and cultural education. Regardless, it was a memorable introduction to Seoul for all participants.
Through the program, students were able to visit various landmarks. “Participants had field trips every week and an overnight excursion to explore Korean history and culture. Field trips [included a] DMZ excursion, museums, Korean Folk Village, etc.,” said Rachel Law, Ewha Program Manager, in an interview with East-West Center (EWC) Young Professional Samantha Garcia.
The program’s goal was to provide an in-depth experience of Korean history, politics, and culture. Law added that the program “provides both Harvard and Ewha students with an opportunity to build mutual friendships and learn about different aspects of Korean culture.” This year’s program marked the 16th cohort since the program began, and both institutions plan to host the program again in 2025.
History in the Making
In 2006, Harvard University and Ewha University launched a collaborative summer study abroad program for undergraduate students in South Korea. However, this program was not created overnight. “Planning meetings began in 2003, three years prior to the launch of the program in 2006,” said Susan Laurence, Executive Director, Harvard Korea Institute (HKI), in an interview with EWC Young Professional Daniel Salgado-Alvarez.
According to Laurence, these discussions were led by leaders from both institutions. On the Harvard University side, Carter Eckert, Yoon Se Young Emeritus Professor of Korean History, and former director of the Harvard Korea Institute, and Professor Robert Lue, then- Dean of the Harvard Summer School (HSS), took the lead. Meanwhile, Eun Mee Kim, President of Ewha Womans University, represented the Korean side.
At the time, both institutions were interested in the “potential of learning about Korea, in Korea, with Korean students,” Laurence said in an interview with Salgado-Alvarez. Since then, the program “has been part of the Ewha curriculum for almost two decades now,” remarked Law to Garcia. While the initial cohort was only 16 students, the program has expanded greatly. According to Laurance, the program has included 381 participants from both countries from 2006 to 2024.
Korea Through Different Academic Perspectives
While the specifics of each year’s program change, “students are required to take a Korean language class and a content class,” Laurence remarked in an interview with Salgado-Alvarez. Laurance added that “Korean language classes are multi-level from beginner to advanced, [and] led by Professor Hi-Sun Kim, Director of the Korean Language Program [at] Harvard University.” This allows students to begin their language learning journey or take higher-level courses to further their studies.
Furthermore, students take one Korean studies course during their time at Ewha. For example, “Global Korea was offered for 2023 EHSSP [and] Thinking Out of the Box – Exploring New Insights into North Korea was offered for 2022 EHSSP,” recounted Law to Garcia. Since the field of Korean studies is broad and interdisciplinary, the program tries to highlight different academic fields. Previously, courses have included “literature, history, archaeology, documentary filmmaking, film study, government, and anthropology,” said Laurance to Salgado-Alvarez.
Another major component of this academic experience is the overnight excursion. Law told Garcia that prior destinations included “Busan for 2023 EHSSP and Jeju for 2024 EHSSP.” This excursion is meant to expose the undergraduate students to culture and history beyond Seoul, which contains more than half of the nation’s population because of a high concentration of economic and educational opportunities.
Making Global Exchanges Accessible for All
Naturally, a trip to Seoul, South Korea, brings many costs to prospective participants. However, Harvard University provides various sources of funding to its undergraduate students. Catherine Glover, Student Programs and Fellowships Coordinator, mentioned in an interview with Salgado-Alvarez that prospective participants have access to scholarships from the Mignone Center for Career Success (MCS) and Harvard Korea Institute.
Thus, this trip is accessible to students like Ayumi Nagatomi, a junior at Harvard College. “I got [a] fully funded scholarship for the summer school... I'm super grateful for Harvard's resources. Being able to expose myself [to Korean culture] like that was just really great,” commented Nagatomi in an interview with Salgado-Alvarez.
Public Diplomacy: A Bridge Between Nations
Educational exchange programs like EHSSP are crucial components of public diplomacy, which gained prominence after the Cold War. They foster cultural and academic exchange, creating greater mutual understanding and a more positive perception of all countries involved. Like many other previous participants, Avery McCoy Ell, a current junior at Harvard College, told Salgado-Alvarez in an interview that her favorite part of the program was the “lasting friendships that it formed.” This person-to-person diplomacy can help strengthen the understanding and trust between Americans and South Korea.
Lasting Impacts of the Program
After the program, students usually “continue with Korean language classes and many take content courses in Korean Studies,” reported Laurence to Salgado-Alvarez. For example, McCoy Ell and Nagatomi, who participated in the summer school in 2022, have continued taking Korean classes and have reached the third-year level. Both mentioned improvements in their Korean language proficiency because of the trip. This sets them on the path towards a Harvard language citation in Korean.
Aside from language proficiency benefits, the program also helps some students decide their career paths. For instance, McCoy Ell stated that she joined the summer school because of her interest in North Korea and nuclear nonproliferation. As an aspiring diplomat, McCoy Ell states that “a huge part of going into the Foreign Service is living abroad. As someone who came from a very rural area, who had never really traveled very far, especially by myself, I think it was like a big test for me. So, I think that it was really helpful for me.” After the summer school, McCoy Ell went on to participate in the US Foreign Service Internship Program through the US Department of State.
Similarly, Nagatomi, a Japanese citizen, participated in the summer school because she is “very interested in Japan-Korea relations, and also trilateral relations [between the] US, Japan, [and] Korea.” In her interview with Salgado-Alvarez, she added that the program solidified her career plans and that she is “actively trying to become [a] diplomat,” after her graduation. Recently, she represented her home country at the East-West Center’s US-ROK-Japan Trilateral Global Leadership Youth Summit in Busan, South Korea.
Ewha-Harvard Undergraduate Summer School has had a great impact on students’ academic and professional journeys. With the next annual iteration of the problem around the corner, a new cohort of students will continue to build relationships between the US and South Korea.
Samantha Garcia participates in the Young Professionals Program at the East-West Center in Washington, DC. She is also a student at Ewha Womans University, acquiring her M.A. in Development Cooperation with concentrations in East Asia and Womens Studies.
Daniel Salgado-Alvarez is a Fall 2024 Young Professional at the East-West Center. He is a recent graduate from Harvard University, where he studied sociology and East Asian studies.