South Korea was one of the countries listed in my wanna-go-there list. So, when I knew that there was a summer school to South Korea, I promised myself that I should join the program. This program was held by Inha University; and Binus University has cooperated with them, so it was kinda easier for Binusians to join. The program started at August 1, 2011 and ended at August 19, 2011.. The program was open for all Inha's partners across the globe: Indonesia, China, Japan, Russia, India, Italy, Turkey, USA, and many others that I cannot remember. So, are you ready for the story? Here it is!!
Note: This post contains the very brief version about the main programs of this Summer School. I think I will post other more-detailed stories later on.The Departure
The group from Binus University gathered at the Soekarno - Hatta International Airport, Jakarta. At that time, Binus' International Office chose me to be the leader for Binus group. Well, I couldn't say anything at that time. It was so weird that we did not discuss anything but then I was chosen suddenly. Hahaha.. So, I helped my friends for the check-ins, etc. Yeah, I wonder if I lost all the tickets I brought at that time.. Our story would end there. LOL. Fortunately, I could handle them well. We departed from Indonesia at 11.20 PM. The flight took 7 hours.. and during the flight, I ate Bibimbap for the first time. It was really delicious. :)
Inha University, Incheon, South Korea
One term for Inha University : A city in a city. Inha University is so spacious and so green! Yeah, even a miniature of an airplane could fit on the yard of the main building. Well, if we compare to Indonesian university, Inha University is like Universitas Pelita Harapan. Since it's summer, the weather was humid and hot. Contrary to fact, Indonesia is still hotter, I guess. :p
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| The yard next to the Main Building |
Well, the picture below is the dormitory. I lived there during the Summer School. The place was nice, and I was kinda shocked that the shower room is shared. There were no partitions between the showers. Umm.. cultural shock. Hahaha. There's dining hall also, we could eat either Korean food or International food there. Kimchi was always available. Yummy~
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| The Dormitory |
The Classes
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| Basic Korean Language Class - D |
Remember, I was not having a holiday. I was studying there. However, frankly, I spent more time to explore Korea than to study. Hahahaha.. I'm sure that all participants did the same thing. I had to have 3 classes there. Two classes were mandatory : Korean Culture Class and Korean Language Class, while for the other one, I chose Introduction to Korean Business Class.
Field Trip #1 - Korean Folk Village
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| Hendrik - JaeYong - Me - Hartono posing in front of "don't-know-the-name" monument. Thanks to Rapenda for the picture. |
Field trip was included in the program. For the field trip in the first week, we went to Korean Folk Village. Oh! I forgot to introduce my buddy, Han Jae Yong (한재용) a.k.a. James. I was in one group with Hartono and Rapenda. JaeYong hyung was our tour guide during the field trip.. thanks, hyung!
I think the time provided was not enough. We enjoyed the trip, but we could not explore much about the place. JaeYong hyung explained to us about Korea in old times: the housing, the culture, superstitions, and many others. Awesome!! He explained them to us very clearly.. of course with some hilarious topics mixed in it, like how children should pee in ancient times.. hahaha.. The first field trip ended up in making rice cake!!
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| "Random Pose" :p |
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| Making rice cake - smashing the dough.
All the participants were so enthusiastic to smash the dough using the provided wooden hammer. Since some participants were somehow had extra energy, the dough was thrown away out of the area. LOL. After we had finished smashing it, the guides cut the dough into pieces and mix them with soy bean powder.. then we were allowed to eat the rice cake. 맛있다!
Site Visit #1 - Bank of Korea
Since I chose Introduction to Korean Business as the elective course, I could join the site visit to Bank of Korea. Well, they introduced to us how they manage the economy of Korea. The most interesting part was when they showed us their vault to save physical money. WOAH!! I really wanted to take one.... one stack of KRW 50000. LOL. Unfortunately, taking picture in the vault was forbidden. There were also the documentation about all forms of Korean money since old times until nowadays. When we had finished, they gave us souvenirs. The souvenirs were coins which are commonly used, packed in a book-like box, and a wallet to save cards. They were so kind! Thanks, BOK.
Field Trip #2 - Gyeongbukgong Palace & Nanta Show
Gyeongbukgong Palace was so broad! The place showed us the history of Korean kingdom, well, once again, JaeYong hyung became our tour guide. Thanks, hyung! Hahaha.. At that time the weather was not friendly at all.. rainy all the day.. just some moments without rain.. and again, the time was not enough. There was a museum also.. much information was provided there, but we were in rush to watch... THE NANTA SHOW!! :D
Alright, this is a spoiler. Nanta show is like High School Musical. The show took place in a kitchen as the backgound. Mixed with some jokes and talents in playing cooking utensils, Nanta was really worth watching. The story was about an annoying manager who was so grouchy towards his workers, but very nice towards his nephew. He asked his workers to prepare some meals just in less than an hour. The dance, the music, the surprise, the competition, and the drama were all well packed in the show. I'm really sure that the show required much concentration from the the players. Once the players could not concentrate, they would hurt themselves. The show took approximately 90 minutes. The players were from the Orange team. Woah! They were really breath-takingly awesome. Lucky us that watching this show was included in the program. :D
Site Visit #2 - Incheon Free Economic Zone
The place was so futuristic. They explained to us what Incheon will look like in few years from now. Looks so elegant and modern!! We watched the 4D and 5D about the future of Incheon city.
I really hope that I can take part in the project someday. Yeah, I love technology so much.
Again, we got a souvenir from them.. This time, we got a cloth, just like towel, I guess, but I'm not sure.. lol.
Korean Culture Competition Day
South Korea is really famous of its K-Pop thingy. Well, to make the program much more interesting, Inha University included this kind of competition in the program. When I knew that there would be a competition, I really wanted to join, but at that time, I did not know what to perform and with whom I would perform. Luckily, my friends were also eager to join the competition. Therefore, a team which consisted of 10 people: Daniel, Herbert, Harry, Hartono, Arya, Felicia, Ferina, Glory, Mitha, and I, is formed. We decided to dance. At first, we only combined T-ara's Roly Poly and Super Junior's Mr. Simple for the music. It was really short.. only 2 minutes! I thought we needed to add more.. What came to my mind at that time was Tae Yang's Wedding Dress. I told my friends about this. They agreed, and I taught them the dance moves.. It happened that they said that the dance moves were really difficult.. oh my.. the only way to solve this was... they asked me to dance that part by myself.. WTH!! I just refused that offer instantly.. but then, since they really asked me to do it, I could not reject anymore. Then, I thought that since it was a very rare event, I should make it very memorable.. I found myself to be very abnormal.. LOL. Until now, I still cannot believe that I was so crazy at that time.
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The Farewell Party
Time did fly so damn fast!! Three weeks were not enough!! The moment which we were not waiting for had come. During the farewell party, they announced the winner of the competition. One team from Binus University who joined the singing contest won!! Congratulations!! Hahahaha. I could not remember all the champions. Maybe I'll update this post later on.
Although my team didn't win the competition, I was not upset since I had succeeded to make the most memorable and craziest event in my life. I love my team. But wait, our Italian fellas loved our performance very much.. they even made their own version of the certificate of award for our performance.. thanks to you all :)
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| Certificate of Award from our friends from Italy. Grazie!!
The dinner was kinda touching.. some of my friends cried since they knew that they would back to where they belong in no time. Our friendship grew so fast, we were like a family already. All of the participants got the certificate, and we took so many pictures together.. Woah!! I could not believe that it was the closing of this Summer School. :(
I've got so many friends, knowledge, experience, and so much fun!! Joining this Summer School was really worth it!! I really wanna say thanks to God, Inha University (International Office, the lecturers, etc), Binus University (especially Binus IO), my buddies (Yeah, I had more than one buddy at that time, unofficially.. :p), my roommates, my BNEC fellas, my dance group, the photographers, my Binusian friends, the cooks at the dorm, all the participants of 2011 Inha Summer School, and everyone.. you all have colored my life.
Thanks for reading, I hope my experience can inspire you, or at least, enrich your knowledge. I think I should post more detailed and crazy stories next time! Stay tuned! If you are curious about this program, just contact me! I'd be glad to share my experience. However, please note that if I share our story in detail to you, you might be the next participant. Take it by your own risk! LOL.
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