Hachioji CampusFaculty of Language Studies Department of Language Studies Korean Course Students from JENESYS2024 visited South Korea as part of the JENESYS2024 University Student Delegation to Korea

From March 9th (Sun) to 15th (Sat), 2025, Sara Inoue (1st year Faculty of Language Studies), a student at Teikyo University, was selected as a member of the JENESYS2024 University Student Visit to South Korea, and visited the Republic of Korea (hereinafter referred to South Korea) with 89 university students from all over Japan who were interested in Korea, and Professor Tomohiro Hara from the same faculty served as the delegation leader.

The JENESYS2024 University Student Visit to Korea is a program run by the Japan-Korea Cultural Foundation and the National Institute of International Education of the Republic of Korea, which dispatches university students selected from across Japan to South Korea. The main purpose of the program is to contribute to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening the foundation for trust between Japan and Korea in the future by deepening understanding of South Korea society and culture through interactions with peers through various tours and university visits, and attending lectures, and by actively promoting the appeal of Japan.

In this program, students held student exchange meetings at Dongguk University and Pusan National University, learned about the Korean War at the War Memorial, and witnessed the reality of the North-South division at the Unification Observatory. They also learned about the latest technology at Hyundai Motors Studio Goyang and South Korea traditional culture at Jeonju Hanok Maul. Teikyo University will continue to provide education that can provide global opportunities in order to develop human resources who can make decisions from an international perspective, which is School Philosophy the case.

Impressions from Sara Inoue (1st year, Faculty of Language Studies) who participated in the program

Through this program, I was able to learn a lot more than just South Korea history and culture. Although it was only a short one week, I feel that I was able to deepen my learning by being inspired by many things while interacting with university students from all over the country. What made the biggest impression on me was the War Memorial of Korea and the Odusan Unification Observatory, which we visited on the third day. In Korean Course, there were lectures on South Korea history, so I thought I had a good understanding of the Korean War, but listening to the guide's explanations revealed many things that I had never heard before, and it was an opportunity to increase my interest even more.
After visiting the War Memorial of Korea, we visited the Odusan Unification Observatory. From the observatory, we could see the lives of North Korean people through a telescope, and we saw that many families are still separated even though the ceasefire continues. While listening to the explanation in the museum, I was shocked to learn that the closest distance between South Korea and North Korea is only 460 meters. At the same time, I felt the tension that North Korea could attack at any time. There were multiple layers of barbed wire on the road near the ceasefire line, and we could also see what looked like a guardhouse. Seeing this view, I personally felt that the Korean War is only in a "ceasefire" state, has not ended, and that continuing peace is not something to be taken for granted. I was also able to feel the kindness and warmth of South Korea people through my interactions. I was very happy to see them kindly lending a hand when I was in trouble, and trying to communicate somehow even when they couldn't communicate with me. Through this experience, I learned the importance of not giving up and trying to communicate even when words don't make sense. I hope that we can create a society where people from various countries, not just South Korea, can interact and get to know each other, thereby building better relationships.

For more information about Faculty of Language Studies click here
For more information about Professor Tomohiro Hara, click here
For more information about the JENESYS2024 university student delegation, click here

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