On Thursday, June 28th, fellow USA Pavilion Student Ambassador, Michael Joh, and I flew to Seoul to speak at the 2012 New Generation Seminar an annual, week-long, conference hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, attended by 20 top Korean students from around the country. These students were personally nominated by their university to represent their school and were then selected via a competitive application process. All of the students attending the seminar have demonstrated high English proficiency and the seminar itself is conducted in English, featuring various guest speakers and special off-site visits. As representatives from Yeosu World Expo and the USA Pavilion, Michael and I were invited to speak about our experience both in the Expo as Student Ambassadors and, more broadly, as college-aged students in Korea.
The bulk of our presentation consisted of a power-point presentation, entitled: Seeing Korea through the Eyes of Americans: The Yeosu EXPO Experience, in which we spoke to the students about out work and responsibilities at the Expo. We described our experiences at the Expo, the features of the USA Pavilion, and our impressions of Korea. We also spoke to the students about college life in the United States, drawing on the diversity of our own experiences..
Once the presentation finished, Mike and I had the opportunity to speak with the students in small groups over lunch. It was interesting to hear each student’s experience learning English as well as have the chance to get to know them better. We were also able to sit in on their subsequent speaker, a representative from the USA Embassy, who spoke about the connection between USA comic-book super heroes and current events over the course of American history. We then traveled with the group on a visit to the studio of international photographer Kim Joong-man.
It was a pleasure and a privilege to have the opportunity to participate in the New Generation Seminar on behalf of the USA Pavilion. The attending students were attentive and easy to talk to, and both the subsequent speaker and studio visit were interesting and engaging opportunities. I hope that Mike and I were able to positively contribute to their conference experience, and that we may be able to stay in touch with some of the students we met that day.
Photo captions from top to bottom:
Student Ambassadors Sara Davidson (second row, far right) and Michael Joh (kneeling far right) join the 2012 New Generation students on a visit to the studio of international photographer Kim Joong-man.
Student Ambassadors Sara Davidson and Michael Joh (center) with the 2012 New Generation Seminar participants.
Student Ambassador Michael Joh answers questions from students at the U.S. Embassy New Generation Seminar.