Forty Mississippi State University students will have the opportunity to travel to South Korea this summer to tour technology centers, participate in seminars, learn at a university and experience Korean culture.J.P. Shim, professor of management information systems, said 30 undergraduate students of any discipline and 10 graduate students from engineering and business will be selected to go on the trip.
Shim, who also serves as director of the Korea Study Tour, is a native of South Korea. He has been at MSU for 24 years and has been teaching in the United States for more than 30 years.
Shim said the first Korea Study Tour came about last year as part of MSU’s international initiative.
In Mississippi, students are not used to the large cities and populations like South Korea has, Shim said, noting that Seoul has a population of more than 10 million and South Korea has a population of more than 46 million.
“Many students here were born in Mississippi and raised in Mississippi; they have not been outside the country,” he said. “It provides a global experience.”
Shim said a global perspective is vital for leaders.
“Without understanding global society, it is impossible to be a leader,” he said.
After last year’s tour, the university received positive feedback from South Korea, Shim said.
“The U.S. Embassy in South Korea said that Mississippi State is one of the universities with the most strengthened international programs,” he said.
Shim said he hopes to eventually expand the trip to roughly two weeks in South Korea and five days in Japan. This year’s trip will be 11 days in South Korea instead of last year’s 10-day trip, Shim said.
During the first three days of the trip, students will tour South Korean businesses and industry centers.
Students will visit the Seoul Tower and participate in an information communication technology seminar at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
The rest of the trip will be spent in education programs at five universities in various cities. The students will be placed at the universities according to their fields of study, Shim said. The universities provide student lodging, either on or off campus.
Shim said the educational programs help students connect with South Korean students, creating cross-cultural relationships.
Senior mechanical engineering major Rob Cochran attended the trip last year. He said the experience enabled him to reconnect with his South Korean conversation partners who had been exchange students at MSU.
He said it also allowed him to get a glimpse of South Korean culture and thus better understand some of his discussions with his conversation partners.
“This trip afforded me the opportunity to see some of what they had talked about during our time together in terms of the South Korean culture,” he said.
MSU graduate Alan Gay also attended last year’s trip. He said he would encourage students to go on the trip to gain appreciation for the world.
“My favorite part of the trip was simply realizing that there is so much more to the world outside of the U.S.,” Gay said. “I was able to both gain a better appreciation of our country while also realizing that we have a lot to learn from others.”
To be eligible, undergraduate students must have a minimum 3.25 GPA and graduate students must have a minimum 3.5 GPA. They must submit a one-page resumé and a one-page essay by Feb. 14.
This year’s trip is $1,000 with Korean companies underwriting the rest of the costs.