Solbridge
Day 1
We started off with a great tour of the Solbridge school building. We got to visit the student areas, lecture hall, faculty offices, conference rooms, and state-of-the-art gym. Our instructor, Chris Jo, took us through a brief history of Korea and an overview of Korean culture, in particular Korea’s drinking culture (how to properly drink in social settings). The youngest person in the group is supposed to carefully pour the Soju and when it is time to cheer, the youngest person is to keep their glass below everyone else as a sign of respect for their elders and to know their place within the group.
The Korean language was invented by one person, King Sejong. The origins of the Korean took on
Chinese symbols and language. Though the initial Korean language was predominately relegated to the
higher class, Kink Sejong wanted all citizens of Korea to be able to communicate effectively. The letters in Korean in particular are all written in a similar way to how your mouth shapes while saying them.
Koreans greet each other by asking “Have you eaten” which is a colloquial way of asking “How are you”.
This form of greeting stems from the history of Korea by the early Japanese colonization and during the
Korean War where Koreans struggled to get proper nourishment and sustainment.
Korean county identity is very collectivist; connected to everyone and made whole by including
everyone and ensuring the wellbeing of their fellow countrymen and countrywomen. Koreans
predominately stay and stick together and look out for each other rather than practice individualism
such as the US.
Day 2
We received a lecture by Dr. Annemari Ferreira on Embedded Marketing particularly in Korean Drama’s (K-Drama).
The discussion alluded to Product Placement (PPL). We learned about Japanese occupation of Korea: Referred to as “the Black Umbrella”. We were surprised to learn that South Korea has the most PhD holders amongst any country of the world (per 1000 people). It is a highly educated society! Korea was called the “Hermit Kingdom” as they didn’t want people in and didn’t want to let people out during the last 1800’s during the Joseon Dynasty. K-pop was born in a church in Seoul, Korea. Henry Appenzeller (a missionary) introduced the first Methodist Church in the late 1800’s, around 1890. By the 1950’s the Korean pop and idol culture genre started with The Kim Sisters. The genre was further popularized during the
Korean War and was listened to by US soldiers stationed in Korea and fighting during the war.
By the 1990’s: Seo Taiji and the Boys introduced rap to Korea. During the 1997 IMF Crisis, President Kim Dae Jung had to borrow $57b from the IMF. The economic situation shifted the lives of many Koreans. Michael
Jackson was invited to the inauguration of President Kim Dae Jung, boosting the country's affinity for pop.
K-pop didn’t just happen, there is a long history, philosophy, and culture of the origins and future of K-pop
Day 3
We received lecture on Korean start-ups and entrepreneurs by Prof. Gilbert Tumibay, Ph.D. Prof. Tumibay discussed, with enthusiasm, the in depth intricacies of:
1. The Triple Helix Model of Innovation
2. Small – Medium Enterprises (SME)
3. Entrepreneurship and start-ups in Korea
4. Korean Startup Ecosystem (Investing and Funding, Incubators and Accelerators, K-Startup Grand
Challenge,
5. Korea Smart Farming
6. Overview of Pan-gyo Techno Valley and Daejun Techno Park
7. Digital Media City in Seoul
8. Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups
Day 4
We wrapped up our time at Solbridge with a final lecture by Professor Chris Jo on the implications of
Korea’s hard and soft powers, and the differences between the two.
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As our final goodbye, we had a closing ceremony in which everybody was given their certificates of participation for joining the program with Solbridge. It was an amazing abroad program, and we all felt like we learned so much about Korean culture both in class and out.