Students forging ties overseas

A group of students gathered at a gate of Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul on Wednesday. What made them stand out, besides their uniform purple shirts, were their youthful and eager faces. 

The students, some of the brightest minds from the United States and Korea, listened intently as Lee Bae-yong, president of Ewha Womans University, explained the history of the palace built shortly after the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) was founded.

The palace tour was part of a collaborative study abroad program between Ewha Womans University and Harvard University.

“I don’t think there is any program like this,” said Kim Eun-mee, professor at the Ewha Womans University Graduate School of International Studies. Kim and Carter Eckert, professor of Korean history at Harvard University, sat down in 2003 and talked about a new course that they both had in mind.

Ewha Womans University president Lee Bae-yong explains the history of Gyeongbok Palace to students in Seoul on Wednesday. Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald