Information, Culture, and Technology in Modern South Korea
I knew I wanted to study abroad again, I wanted to push myself so far out of my comfort zone with my next program. So, an education major enrolled in an Informatics program in South Korea! I had little to no background knowledge on what this program would consist of, but I was ready for this new challenge. The pre-departure meetings began, and my anxiety began to grow more and more. I would be travelling to Korea completely alone, the thought of landing in a country where I did not speak or understand the language was terrifying. Little did I know that this experience would be by far the best trip abroad I’ve been on.
I was living in Sungkyunkwan University international house dorms for the first two weeks of my stay in Korea. I was really excited to be staying in dorms as it would give me the real experience of a student who lived on campus. Every morning a small group of us would meet in the lobby of the dorms and walk over to the local 7 eleven shop, it became our morning routine. We were greeted by the sweet shop owner, an older woman who always told us what the best breakfast deal would be. We would sit and eat our breakfast and then walked over to the library where our classes were held. Most days we had a shared lecture with our Korean “buddies”, the guest lecturers talk about topics such as the history between North and South Korea and the Korean economy. In the evening we would have site visits to an array of different companies that promote digital storytelling and understanding of how information captures culture and social complexities. These site visits were really interesting as they allowed me space to truly see how what we were learning was being applied in real time and within real companies.
Seeing as Seoul, Korea has become such a fast paced and advanced society while also preserving many areas for cultural tradition is quite interesting. Changdeokgung Palace was made in the 15th century, was burned down by the Japanese and then reconstructed in and then again serving as the as the main seat of the dynasty for 250 years. To see a palace that holds so much history still stand in the middle of such a populated city shows me the importance and respect these placed hold for Koreans. I couldn’t help but think back on my city, Seattle and how the process of expansion and gentrification have/are removing so many important places for communities of color. The recent pushout of shop owners in the International District, in order to make space for new buildings and businesses is frustrating and sad as I feel Seattle is removing pieces of the city that hold the most culture, tradition and hope.
Denisse Garcia, Early Fall 2019
