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When I attended Korean school as a child, the class hours were long and I had to complete an inordinate amount of homework. However, through these classes, I gained an outlook on Korean culture, history, and traditions that were important in connecting with my heritage.

As I grew older and became increasingly worried about not being able to explore my ethnic Korean roots and heritage further, I came across the Sejong Korea Scholars Program (SKSP), an online course hosted by 91�Թ� that gave me a unique opportunity to delve into my growing curiosity. 

Little did I know how enriching this online program would turn out to be. Gaining personal interactions with guest speakers and professors, getting a chance to further my knowledge in a range of international topics, and thinking on a deeper level with every discussion post I wrote… it was a dream come true.

The four and a half months of SKSP were genuinely an exciting time for me in gaining knowledge about Korea. I found that studying about Korean history and U.S.–Korea relations contributed to a greater appreciation of my ethnic roots.

Most importantly, SKSP provided me access to an incredible set of people, including fellow students from across the country who were participating in the program and the professors who led our weekly lectures. These two aspects of the program, in particular, gave me a chance to reach out and forge connections with people. Above all, I’m grateful that I was able to establish a relationship with Dr. HyoJung Jang, the instructor of SKSP, who greatly expanded my knowledge of Korean societal issues, education, conflicts, and international relations.

As SKSP came to an end, I discovered a missing part of my identity by delving into a topic that I found myself wanting to explore more: the way in which the contrasting cultures of the U.S. and South Korea have differentially shaped their education systems. As someone who had experienced both American and Korean-style education, this topic was particularly meaningful to me. I came to be more aware of how education systems work in other countries, and this experience nourished my interest in diversifying education for all. For my final research paper, I decided to analyze how the education systems of both Korea and the U.S. could be improved.

Through this experience, I came to the conclusion that I would like to pursue a career in education. Not only was I ecstatic at this realization, I was extremely thankful to Professor Nancy Abelmann, whose lecture provided me with knowledge about the South Korean education system. Dr. Yoon Choi’s lecture on Hallyu (“the Korean Wave”) also provided me the inspiration to grow my interest in media, making me want to pursue the field of journalism even more than I already did.

SKSP was a truly unforgettable experience that allowed me to grow as a person, a student, and a speaker. As I came to reflect on my experience with SKSP, I have realized how it truly diversified my knowledge in many critical areas, allowed me to develop my love for improving education systems, and motivated me to become a more influential person in the media. In all these ways, SKSP was a genuinely influential force in my life, and I anticipate that it will continue to shape my identity as a Korean American and influence my academic interests and career direction in ways that I am unaware of now.

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Like many Korean American children, my Saturday mornings growing up consisted of a reluctant drive to Korean school and a subsequent trip to the Korean market. A day filled with bubbly Korean sounds and characters, Choco-Pie, and tteok-boki would flash past until Monday came around and it was back to flat intonations, Oreos, and bow-tie pasta.

If you asked me then, I would say that I was fairly knowledgeable of my Korean roots. Even though my language skills were never the best, I spent plenty of time with Korean relatives and knew my way around a menu. However, during the four months I attended the Sejong Korea Scholars Program (SKSP), my eyes were opened to the vast complexity and truth of Korea.

Every other week, I connected with incredible students from all over the nation who each offered unique perspectives, opinions, and knowledge. My classmates and I learned the country’s story from its beginning to its present from a multitude of renowned professors from diverse institutions. Dr. HyoJung Jang gave us access to a myriad of college-level resources and challenged us through thought-provoking assignments that were by far the most fulfilling I have ever done.

We learned the history of unique Korean architecture and fashion and the beautiful traditional practices infused into Korean life. We learned how King Sejong, the program’s eponym, created a new alphabet—the same one I had studied on Korean school Saturdays—in order to escape Chinese origins and give further distinction and pride to the Korean people.

However, we spent equivalent time learning about the country’s more unpleasant, bitter chapters. We studied how Korean society tends to measure the validity of a person’s “Koreanness” in terms of their race—the plague of ethnic nationalism. When we were given the freedom to explore any aspect of Korean history for our final research paper, I chose to research comfort women, the system of sexual slavery instituted by Japan during the occupation. In my studies, I investigated how deeply systemic misogyny runs in the cultures of both Korea and Japan, but also discovered the immense strength and anger portrayed by Korean citizens’ more recent protests of the Japanese government’s denials, revealing an important evolution in Korean culture.

Learning these difficult things gave depth to my comprehension of Korea: in order to truly understand the essence and culture of a country, it is also important to face the hard-to-swallow pieces of its history, its being, and its future. After completing the course, I became inspired to provide similar opportunities to my peers. I’m currently working on creating an in-person, day-long forum to help teenagers realize a similar depth of knowledge of Korea.

Taking SKSP transformed my perspective on life and my ambitions for the future. This program has sparked my desire to build a new relationship with Korean culture in college and beyond so that I can gain a deeper understanding of myself, my heritage, and my connections with the world.

Among the blank screens and muted microphones that plagued remote high school learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, I enrolled in the Sejong Korea Scholars Program (SKSP) at the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (91�Թ�) and found a completely opposite learning experience.

My passion for Korean history and geopolitics first began when I learned the Korean alphabet system, Hangul, in my history books for Advanced Placement World History. My class, however, only covered the Han Chinese Dynasty briefly before moving on to Europe. Upon asking if we would return to the Asian continent, my teacher hastily replied that we already covered what we “needed to know to pass the test.”

I needed to learn more than what my classroom provided. Then I discovered SKSP, which provided an opportunity for me to learn from top Korea scholars about various perspectives of Korean history and more. SKSP taught me the rich history of Korea that is not covered by the limited high school academic curricula. After being admitted to the program, I was also honored to accept a scholarship that covered the tuition, given my status as a low-income student.

Classes swiftly started in the spring semester. We received textbooks, log-in information, and a warm welcome. I met the faces of my peers as they voiced their passions and motivations leading them to SKSP. Alongside these top students representing 13 states, I found a rigorous environment and yet never once felt “less than” any of my peers.

Our weekly seminars followed in a highly organized manner and had exceptional professors from across the country. We began with the three ancient kingdoms: Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla, and then delved into post-1900s Korea, Colonial Korean history, the Korean War, the Miracle on the Han River, and the nation’s final emergence as a trillion-dollar economy.

Korean economics was especially intriguing. SKSP allowed me to converse live with leading experts like Professor Danny Leipziger from George Washington University. In his lecture, he described the factors for South Korea’s economic expansion and how they contributed to the nation’s unprecedented global accomplishments. This topic strongly influenced my final research paper on the current housing crisis in Seoul, in which I analyzed how the collaboration of public and private sectors in South Korea created a unique Jeonse, also known as “Key Money Deposit.”

On top of these experiences, the true learning came from our peer review process for our research papers. I read outstanding papers from all of my exemplary peers and observed how each student developed a unique style of incorporating evidence to defend their thesis. Some incorporated game theory and U.S sanctions in their papers.

SKSP provided an otherwise unattainable learning opportunity in terms of intercultural literacy, historical perspective, collaboration, critical thinking, and global awareness. It gave me the chance to develop into an intelligent global citizen, who is able to comprehend alternative views and pursue interests in a career in ambassadorship. As I attend university, I will pursue a double major in Korean Studies and Language and Engineering.

It has been another exciting year for the Sejong Korea Scholars Program (SKSP), an intensive online course on Korean history and culture and U.S.–Korea relations for U.S. high school students. Some of the highlights from this year include the all-star lineup of guest speakers, a revamped curriculum that added an introduction to Korean American history and experience, and a diverse cohort of 23 intellectually curious and hard-working students. 

Each year, scholars and experts join students in Virtual Classroom (VC) sessions to share their scholarly knowledge and expertise on given topics. This year, the lineup of speakers included Professor Danny Leipziger from George Washington University, Professors Kyeyoung Park and Namhee Lee from UCLA, and Ambassador Mark Lippert, a former U.S. ambassador to South Korea.

Students learned in detail about South Korea’s rapid economic development after the Korean War from Professor Danny Leipziger, who worked as Senior Country Economist for South Korea in the 1980s during his tenure at the World Bank. With Professor Namhee Lee, students examined the complex and intricate relations among the countries involved in the Korean War; and with Ambassador Mark Lippert, they explored recent developments in U.S.–South Korea relations.

This year, students were introduced to Korean American history within the context of broader Asian American history. They also learned about race relations between Korean Americans and other ethnic communities in the United States from Professor Kyeyoung Park, the author of LA Rising: Korean Relations with Blacks and Latinos after Civil Unrest (2019).

Students expressed their excitement to engage with the scholars and experts in VCs. Likewise, all of the scholars and experts who joined as guest speakers mentioned how much they enjoyed meeting the students and how they were impressed by the insights with which students asked their questions.

Each year, students from across the United States apply to participate in the competitive SKSP, which offers undergraduate-level content and rigor. Not too surprisingly, this year’s cohort of students demonstrated a strong intellectual curiosity, active participation in sharing their diverse perspectives and synthesis of the readings and lectures, and an excellent work ethic shown in assignments and a research paper. Many students mentioned how much they enjoyed interacting with their peers in the course, particularly in discussions, where they engaged in vibrant conversations about the course content in a respectful and positive manner. Many students frequently shared relevant external resources that they had found, which contributed to the richness of the discussion.

Student Clara Boyd commented, “It has been so rewarding and fun for me to complete the readings/lectures … and then discuss ideas with classmates, and it was really cool to have the opportunity to meet with different scholars and experts during the VCs. I always looked forward to interacting with the guest speakers and my classmates on Wednesday evenings! This program has been so impactful and eye-opening, and my perspective of Korea and the world has changed a lot since I started SKSP.”

Many of the students, who are taking multiple AP courses and participating in various extracurricular activities, mentioned that they have never learned much about Korea in their history courses. They are often surprised when they learn about Korean history that involves the United States and the long history of relations between the United States and Korea.

Some of the aims of the SKSP are to provide students with various perspectives on history, encourage them to develop critical thinking skills in assessing historical documents and evidence, and challenge them to interrogate common historical narratives and understand the complexities of history written from different perspectives. The analytic tools that students are encouraged and trained to develop in the SKSP will be a valuable tool as they continue to grow and expand as students and future leaders.

91�Թ� also offers online courses to U.S. high school students on Japan (Reischauer Scholars Program) and China (), as well as other student programs for students abroad.

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