The First Global HOKMA Seminar Day Held

The first Global HOKMA Seminar Day was held on September 19 (Thu.) in the Lee Sam-bong Hall of the ECC building to welcome international students newly enrolled in the second semester of 2024. The Global HOKMA Seminar Day served as a gathering for designated professors and international students in all 12 classes in Korean for incoming international students and “Global HOKMA Seminar 1: Start in Ewha,” a course designed for adaptation guidance, with the aim to allow students to mingle early in the semester. Dean Jeeyon Paek of the HOKMA College of General Education delivered encouraging remarks by saying, “I would like to extend my warmest applause and compliments to all of you who took the courage to come and study in an unfamiliar foreign country like Korea, when you could just as easily have studied in your home country using your first language,” and added, “I hope that your time at Ewha Womans University will be a joyful time of learning and growth, and we promise to spare no effort in supporting you with whatever assistance you need.” This was followed by an introduction for the university by EWHAROSA, the official student ambassadors under the Office of Admissions who serve to bridge the gap between Ewha and high schools, as well as celebratory performances by Lilyewha, a traditional Korean music club at Ewha, and celebratory K-pop performances by the campus jazz dance club View Hallo and the campus contemporary dance club Action, which energized the audience with delightful spectacles. The day’s events ended with a networking session designed to bring students closer together. With the number of international students arriving in Korea this year exceeding 200,000 for the first time since the launch of the Study Korea 300K Project by the Ministry of Education, Ewha has aggressively supported international students to adapt to university life with ease and made efforts to foster global professional personnel with the intention of globalizing its education and enhancing its global brand value. Under the medium- to long-term international student attraction plan, Ewha plans to enable sustainable learning by managing international students in all departments, other than the Division of International Studies and the College of Nursing, under the Global Division of the HOKMA College of General Education for one year to help international students foster their abilities in basic liberal arts and the Korean language, starting from 2025. Ewha plans to make further efforts to operate various programs for international students, including a meticulous education management system for the intensive teaching of basic knowledge through Korean language education and customized guidance for adapting to university life before international students select their majors in their second year, allowing them to choose their majors upon reaching a certain level of Korean language proficiency. In addition, Ewha will continue to perform active international student attraction activities and build a systematic and meticulous operating system for international students.

EMAP X Frieze Film 2024, Adding Color to the Campus Nights

The College of Art & Design held the Ewha Media Art Presentation (EMAP), an international media art festival, from September 2 (Mon.) to September 6 (Fri.). Launched in 2001, EMAP has cemented its place as a global art festival for introducing leading media artworks at home and abroad. This year, it presented a visual artwork project titled “EMAP X Frieze Film 2024” in partnership with Frieze Seoul, which is frequently cited as one of the world’s top-two art fairs. The EMAP X Frieze Film 2024 event was overseen by Frances Morris CBE, a distinguished visiting professor under Ewha Frontier 10-10, a project conducted by Ewha to create world-class research accomplishments. At the event, Joowon Park, a former curator at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, and Valentine Umansky, a curator at Tate Modern, showcased the media works of 37 international artists through joint planning. More than 300 key figures in cultural circles attended the opening ceremony held at the ECC at 7 p.m. on September 2 (Mon.). Attendees included President Eun Mee Kim, Distinguished Visiting Professor Frances Morris, faculty members and students at the College of Art & Design, including Dean Gyoung-Sil Choi of the College of Art & Design and EMAP Executive Commissioner Airan Kang, and organizers of Frieze. President Eun Mee Kim introduced the event by remarking, “In its history of two decades, EMAP has showcased media arts in various formats including video installations, interactive art, and performances, focusing the limelight on rising women media artists at home and abroad, and has served to foster creativity and international competitiveness among Ewha students,” and further noted, “I appreciate Frieze Seoul for choosing Ewha Womans University, a world-class academic institution for women, to be a partner of Frieze Film, which began in 2022 with the goal of supporting the non-profit art ecosystem of Korea, and it is my hope that the cooperation and growth between the two institutions will continue into the future.” This year’s EMAP focused on the exponential rise of digital technologies in rendering the intrinsic ties between humanity and the natural world faded and distant, while fundamentally reconfiguring the space and boundaries between humans and nonhumans. Against this backdrop, EMAP showcased media artworks based on the concept of time by 35 global artists in eight chapters under the theme of “All that Weaves the Universe: A Question of Quantum Entanglements.” The outdoor exhibition held on campus, including the ECC, consisted of screens installed to showcase the themes “A Question of Quantum Entanglements,” “Longing & Belonging,” “On Time, Data, and Speed. Visions of Postmodernity and Accelerationism,” “Making Kin with the Living,” “Of Soil, Stones, Steel and Souls,” “A Line Seeking to Meet Itself,” “Deep Time,” and “Ewha Highlights: Unveiling Human Experience in a Digital Age.” EMAP X Frieze Film 2024 presented a unique experience with large-scale screens and video works from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., in addition to works by students and graduates of the College of Art & Design of Ewha that were exhibited in the Ewha Art Center and across the campus.

Ewha’s Global Programs Bringing the World to Ewha

With multilateral exchange agreements with 1,082 overseas universities and institutions in 82 countries, Ewha has persistently enhanced its system for fostering global women leaders through the expansion of globalization programs, the integrated full-cycle management for outstanding international students, and joint- and dual-degree discovery initiatives with overseas universities. This summer vacation, students from prominent global universities participated in various programs held at Ewha. Ewha-Harvard Summer School, a Special Partnership Program During this summer vacation, the Graduate School of International Studies held the Ewha-Harvard Summer School Program for eight weeks until August 17 (Sat.) in partnership with Harvard Summer School in the U.S. The Ewha-Harvard Summer School Program is the only Harvard University summer school program held in Korea and has taken place at the Ewha campus every summer since 2006. The program is offered as a summer school class for students to acquire three credits. Upon completion, students also receive a certificate each from Harvard Summer School and the Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha, garnering a high satisfaction rate every year. This year, the program provided an anthropology class that examined social changes in modern Korea under the theme of Global Korea, attended by 12 students each from Harvard and Ewha. In addition to classes in lecture rooms, students took part in various exploration programs through which they vividly experienced issues such as the division of the Korean Peninsula and multiculturalism in Korea through field trips to locations including the demilitarized zone, Ansan Global Multicultural Center, and historic sites of the Jeju Uprising. Ewha International Summer College, Korea’s First Summer School The Office of International Affairs successfully held the 2024 Ewha International Summer College, which was established in 1971 as the first of its kind in Korea to provide international students from around the globe with classes in various majors, including the humanities, economics, business administration, and engineering, in addition to specialized music and arts classes, through which students can obtain credits on the Ewha campus, while partaking in activities for cultural experiences. This year, the Summer College took place across two sessions, consisting of four weeks and two weeks, respectively, with the participation of over 500 students from 21 countries, marking a record-high in terms of the number of participants. Session 1, held for four weeks from June 28 (Fri.), provided sophisticated lectures by faculty members from Ewha and overseas leading universities. Besides the classes, students took part in various programs including field trips to Korea’s ancient palaces, the Cheong Wa Dae, a former presidential residence, and the demilitarized zone. Students who participated in Session 2 for two weeks from August 2 (Fri.) attended special lectures on various themes as well as proficiency-based Korean classes and Korean Studies to improve their understanding of the Korean culture, and participated in field trips to experience Korean culture, resulting in a high satisfaction rate. The Office of International Affairs will endeavor to develop diverse and high-quality globalization programs based on the success of the 2024 Ewha International Summer College. In particular, during winter vacation, the Office will provide Ewha’s excellent international programs for students around the world through the Ewha International Winter College, scheduled to be established in the winter of 2024. Ewha-CUHK GSP, a Joint Initiative with World-leading Universities This year saw another successful completion of the Ewha-CUHK Global Student Partnership (GSP), an academic and culture exchange program co-hosted by students of Ewha and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). The GSP, a short-term special exchange program with overseas universities, is organized by students overall, including the planning of the program. The GSP with the CUHK was launched in 2019 and celebrates its sixth anniversary this year. A total of 16 students selected from the two universities fostered their global leadership skills by organizing two conference events: the Seoul Conference held at the Ewha campus and the Hong Kong Conference at CUHK. This year’s program was conducted under the theme of “The Future of AI: Opportunities and Challenges,” with the Seoul Conference lasting a week from July 25 (Thu.) to July 31 (Wed.) to examine AI technology and the past, present, and future of Seoul alongside the dual sub-themes of “The present and future of AI technology: Expert outlooks and case studies” and “Exploration of the culture and history connecting the past to the present of Seoul.” To establish an innovative educational platform in line with digital transformation, Ewha has made efforts to develop advanced educational courses, build teaching and learning convergence support systems, and reinforce the support system for fostering global women leaders. In particular, from the upcoming semester, Ewha will support international students to adapt to university life at Ewha through the pilot operation of the Global Division (scheduled to be established in 2025) under HOKMA College of General Education and furthermore plans to lead education and research at Ewha in a bold step forward by attracting global talent.

Ewha’s Global Programs on the World Stage

Ewha dispatches over 1,500 students overseas every year through the various curricular and extracurricular programs of each department and institution, supporting the efforts of Ewha students to discover their aptitudes on the global stage. This summer vacation, Ewha students once again returned home with their global capacity bolstered by Ewha’s diverse international programs. Ewha Global Frontier, a Self-driven Global Exploration Program Seven teams of the 2024 Ewha Summer Global Frontier Program, supported by the Office of Student Affairs, visited seven countries in Europe and the Middle East to partake in overseas exploration activities. Ewha Global Frontier is a short-term overseas exploration program with the aim to foster global women leaders with a daring spirit, creative problem-solving skills, and an aptitude for leadership. Under the program, participants organize a team of four to formulate an exploration theme and plan and visit overseas international organizations, public institutions, multinational companies, and universities over the course of 10 nights and 12 days during their vacations. The program provides scholarships that cover the cost of airfare and exploration activities, which is met with high satisfaction among the participants. For the 2024 Ewha Summer Global Frontier Program, 28 students in seven teams participated in carrying out in-depth exploration activities in various fields, including fine arts, literature, exhibitions, and sports for all, as well as education sectors including career-linked training, public training for economy and finances, and learning support for at-risk youths. Faculty-led Study Abroad, a Global In-depth Major Study Program The 2024 First-half Faculty-led Study Abroad Program, supported by the Office of International Affairs, saw its seven teams successfully complete their activities. The Faculty-led Study Abroad Program is a program that allows students to participate in joint classes and seminars with prominent overseas universities and institutions during vacations under the supervision of faculty members. With the program, students can take credits as a summer session course or through the transfer of overseas credits, leading to high satisfaction among the participants. This summer, a total of 100 students in seven teams from the Department of History, Department of Social Welfare, Division of Communication & Media, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Department of Korean Music, and Division of Design visited locations such as Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Italy, and the United States to take part in various activities. Global Internship, an Overseas Work Experience Program The Career Development Center runs the Global Internship Program to support students’ overseas employment. From 2021 to the first half of 2024, including this year’s summer vacation, over 60 students participated in the Global Internship Program and were dispatched to 12 countries, including France, Germany, and Iceland in Europe, Hong Kong and Australia in the ASEAN region, and the U.S. and Canada in North America. The center has provided opportunities for students to foster their cultural receptivity in various cultural and business environments and cultivate expertise and skills in their chosen sectors in collaboration with diverse institutions and corporations, including the Work, English Study, Travel (WEST) Program under the National Institute for International Education, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), CNN Seoul, and King Sejong Institute Foundation. Through the program, students can earn recognized credits (up to 15 credits for each working period) and scholarships, foster international awareness and enhance their work capacity while adding substance to their résumé and career design through overseas work experience. To establish an innovative educational platform in line with digital transformation, Ewha has made efforts to develop advanced educational courses, build teaching and learning convergence support systems and reinforce the support system for fostering global women leaders. In particular, from the upcoming semester, Ewha will support international students to adapt to university life at Ewha through the pilot operation of the Global Division (scheduled to be established in 2025) under HOKMA College of General Education, and furthermore plans to lead education and research at Ewha in a bold step forward by attracting global talent.

2023 Fall Commencement Ceremony Held as Graduates Venture into Society

Ewha Womans University held its 2023 Fall Commencement Ceremony on August 30 (Fri.) at 10 a.m. in the Welch-Ryang Auditorium, conferring degrees on a total of 2,159 graduates, including 1,125 bachelor’s degrees, 921 master’s degrees, and 113 doctoral degrees. The commencement ceremony was attended by Chairperson Chang Myong-sue of Ewha Womans University Board of Trustees, President Eun Mee Kim, President Lee Myeong-gyeong of Ewha Alumnae Association, deans of colleges and graduate schools, other distinguished guests, as well as over 2,000 graduates. The ceremony lasted for one hour and included the Pledge of Allegiance, the national anthem, a hymn recital, a Bible reading, prayers, the president’s remarks, the conferral of degrees, a congratulatory musical performance, the school anthem, and the benediction. President Eun Mee Kim told the graduates, “As enlightened members of Ewha, I hope that you will build fortitude within to stand firm in the face of challenges based on the education and training you received at Ewha, like a house built on a solid foundation of rock that withstands both the test of earthquakes and storms.” The president also urged, “Just as the past teachers of Ewha once said, ‘Take ownership over your own path,’ be the masters of your own destiny and trailblazers who forge new paths where none existed before.” The president also noted, “Out of more than 100 women’s schools that were established in Joseon and a plethora of other countries by an American woman’s missionary society until the early 20th century, only Ewha Womans University has evolved into a prestigious comprehensive women’s university and a world-class research institution.” She ended her remarks by expressing her support for the graduates: “Ewha will continue its path of tireless challenges and innovations, standing steadfast like the Rock of Gibraltar in Greco-Roman mythology and like David’s shield and rock in the Bible.” Among the undergraduate graduates attending the ceremony, the youngest was 21 years old, while the oldest was 47. Two students of North Korean defector background also proudly wore their graduation caps. Meanwhile, a total of 213 international students (83 bachelor’s degree recipients and 130 master’s and doctoral recipients) from various countries, including China, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan, and the U.S., also received their diplomas, including 13 recipients of the Ewha Global Partnership Program (EGPP) scholarship. The EGPP is a global women’s talent development program that selects talented women from developing countries to provide them with full scholarships and living expenses for their education at Ewha. EGPP graduates are expected to pursue advanced studies abroad based on their outstanding academic performance or find employment in Korea, where they can broadly showcase the skills acquired at Ewha.