Anyeong haseyo – and greetings from Seoul! Three days ago, 4 GSLIS students, 1 URI student, and 2 GSLIS faculty members arrived in Seoul, South Korea to complete a two-week intensive summer study program at Yonsei University. For the past five years, GSLIS has been sending students and faculty members to study various LIS/Archives topics at Yonsei University, and Yonsei University has been sending their students to GSLIS for a year to participate in a dual-degree program. This partnership has been an amazing opportunities for both programs to gain a unique international perspective on LIS education, compare different systems of ethics and standards in libraries and archives, and make new friends from across the globe pursuing similar research and career paths.
This year, Professor Katherine Wisser is teaching LIS440: Archival Access & Use, and Professor and Dean Emerita Michele Cloonan is teaching LIS439: Preservation Management for Libraries & Archives. Twenty Korean students are enrolled in these courses alongside of our 5 adventurous GSLIS students who are eager to begin classes Monday morning. A bit about our students:
Bethany Fair, serving as both Fellow for Dean’s International Initiatives and student, is in her 5th semester at GSLIS and is a dual History/Archives student. This is her second time at Yonsei, and she is most eager to learn more about Preservation from a Korean perspective, sample Korean cuisine, and do more hiking in the Bukhansan National Forest. She is enrolled in Cloonan’s Preservation course.
Ashleigh Coren is in her 3rd semester at GSLIS on the Archives Management track. This is her first time in Asia, and she is most eager to eat as much Korean cuisine as possible, make new friends, and see the city sites. She is enrolled in Wisser’s Archival Access & Use course.
Andra Langoussis is in her 3rd semester at GSLIS, and has served as a research assistant to both Professor Michele Cloonan and Professor Ross Harvey as she pursues a concentration in Preservation and Conservation. Andra is also a huge K-POP and Korean Pop Culture fan, and is excited to finally see some of her favorite bands in person, and learn more about entertainment in Seoul. She is also excited to make new friends in Cloonan’s Preservation course.
Allison Snyder is in her 3rd semester at GSLIS, and is focusing primarily on Cultural Heritage and museum work. She is somewhat of a tea expert/enthusiast and is most interested in sampling Korean teas, and learning more about its unique role in Korean traditions and history. She is also interested in hiking Bukhansan National Forest, and taking Cloonan’s Preservation course.
Shelby Tyszka is an LIS student from University of Rhode Island who heard about the Simmons/Yonsei dual-degree program from a colleague, and is excited to be taking Cloonan’s Preservation course for transfer credit. Shelby has long dreamed of traveling to Seoul, as she loves K-POP, Korean film and television, Korean culture, and the language. She is the most proficient of our students in the language, and has already been an excellent guide for the group with her diverse knowledge of the culture. We are extremely thankful for her contributions, and look forward to having more transfer students from other LIS programs in the future.
Today is actually our first day of class here, so it will take some time for us to get to know our Korean colleagues, but we are anxious to tell you more about them and their experience here as well as our own.
We have planned several field trips to the following institutions: National Archives of Korea, National Library of Korea, The Korean Film Archive, Seoul National University’s Korean Studies Department, and the Yonsei University Samsung Library, Museum, and Archives. These field trips will be an excellent way for students to apply what they are learning in the classroom to real world institutions here in Seoul, and to have a chance to ask questions and have a tangible sense of the differences between American and Korean standards in different types of libraries, archives, and cultural heritage sites. As these trips happen, we will post photos and feedback!
Since our arrival, we have been getting settled, figuring out how to use the wi-fi and Korean computers, and getting used to the time change. We expect to have a week packed full of fun and adventure, and hope to post updates and photos as the adventure ensues. Thanks for reading!