Today was the second day of classes, and like the first it was a great deal of fun and I learnt lots and also enjoyed myself. Tomorrow I don't have classes, but instead our class is going on a culture trip, which will be interesting. More on that tomorrow.
Today, after class, there was a tour of the school for new students. We received a tote bag from Ewha University, a kimbap to eat and some water and then we were lead around. It was really cold so it wasn't the best of days to listen to someone explain the history of the campus but still it was pretty interesting.
The tour was done with the official campus representative first saying her lines in korean and then a Business major from the school translating into English. The translations were a little... On the easy side and not quite accurate all the time and the translator clearly struggled but she really tried hard.
Thankfully I understood the Korean so I got the full experience.
The tour mostly seemed geared towards future students who were here to consider which university they ought to apply to, so it contained some things that for a foreigner may not have much meaning or merit.
Some things that I learn about the campus:
In the old days the campus was located at CheongDamDong, which is the very expensive area where rich people live, and in the 1930s (if I remember correctly), the campus was moved to its current location.
Above, is the eldest building at the school. I don't remember in what year it was built, but I do remember that it was partly ruined during the Korean war, and was rebuilt but the floors were colored in different colors to mark how much the Korean war had taken, and the stairs are the original stairs and are therefore partly destroyed, not because the building is old, but to commemorate its historical significance.
Ewha Woman's University has played huge roles in the Women's rights movements in South Korea, and that is yet another reason why this building is so important. On the ground floor of this building is the University's Director's office. It's not a huge fancy office as you may imagine, and it's not at the top of some fancy building. It's on the ground level in this old building.
The reason for this is that back when it was still very controversial in South Korea for women to seek education, girls used to have to fight their parents to be allowed to attend school. They parents may even arrive and try to drag them away, so for that reason the director had her office on the Ground level so that she could go out and meet the parents and try to convince them to let their daughter come to the school and learn.
Other things I found intersting is that in the ECC (a building that I still haven't introduced, but will eventually get to), there is a store called E-feel, which is a brand that sells unique clothes made by the clothes design majors at the school. Their products are sold through this store and all profits go to improve the facilities at their major.
The last interesting point that I reflected about was how the tour guide emphasized that Samsung that donated this hall and Posco his other hall, and so on, and even spent a short time explaining that this meant that these big companies believe and invest in the future of Ewha University, something that would be important to know for someone who is seeking to get into a big company like that in the future, bur perhaps not so much for foreigners who are still trying to learn how to say "hello" in Korean.
After the tour, we went back home to the dorm and finalised our room changes by changing keys and getting new passwords for our doors. Then my roommate and I headed out in town to meet and old friend of mine for some great Samgyupsal (Korean BBQ) and soju and beer.
It is now nearing midnight and I have finally finished my work (and written my blog too), so I shall head off and sleep lots before the culture class tomorrow. See you then!
