Gamsa Hamnida...Hungu!

Right now, it is Sunday night and our trip is sadly very close to coming to an end. We have just returned on a long bus ride from the Paeju English village where we played sports with Korean kids, ate dinner with Korean interns looking to practice English and watched a local B-Boy dance performance. The bus ride home provided an ideal opportunity for introspection and reflection of the previous experiences in Seoul…some of which I am happy to share with you.

I am not sure how effective it would be to write about every place we have visited over the course of our adventures in Korea, as our trip itinerary serves that helpful purpose. Nonetheless, for those curious, the following list has most of what we have done this trip. With every organization we have visited, we were greeted with the utmost respect and admiration, always by an extremely important and active representative of the organization who gave us a lovely gift and treated us to a scrumptious and high quality Korean meal.

Here we go….SK Wyverns baseball team, FC Seoul, 2002 World Cup Stadium, Samsung Training Facility, Samsung Thunders game, Samsung Hi-Clear Badminton team, NEST, 1988 Olympic Museum, Chosun Ilbo Newspaper (biggest in Korea), IB Sport Marketing, Blue House Tour (Korean version of America’s White House and Canada’s 24 Sussex Drive), Peter Kim, CG Media – VP Program Sales and the staff and students of the Physical Education Faculty at Kyung Hee University. Tomorrow, we have our final meeting with Puma Korea before heading to the airport. My jacket is filled with business cards from people at all these places who are very enthusiastic and supportive of our studies and eagerly encourage us (all USF SM students) to reach out and find a way to work with them in Korea.

On top of all of this has been the rapid pulse of a booming city. With free time, both collectively and individually, we found ways to connect to Seoul. Whether it was through the interesting bathing at a Jimjilbang, tasty sips of Soju with Korean students or touring local museums, we will all have left this city with a much greater understanding for the Korean people and first-hand experience with their generosity and pride.

Of course, as with anything in life, there will be more emotions that will flow from this trip once it is over. I already know I will soon talk about Jason, a student who has joined us for every leg of the trip. This week has been part of his internship for a Korean Sport Marketing firm and he has been doing a great job. Relatable as an aspiring sport management professional and appreciated for his everlasting help in explanations and translations, he has infused the trip with incredible character.

Lastly, on behalf of all the students from this class, I would like to thank Dr. Choi. All of our lectures have been interesting and thought provoking. The networks extended to us, not even to mention all of the local experiences, could never, ever have been achieved otherwise. We all know how much effort he has poured in to this and are extremely grateful.

I look forward to updating this blog with some after thoughts of the trip. Right now, for our last evening, I am about to join some friends in the lobby and visit the famous Noryangjin Market which is a 24-hour Fish Market…a bit late for raw fish but one last attempt to make the most of such unique surroundings.

Thanks for reading. For any questions about our trip to Korea or the USF Sport Management Program email me at ccsterling@usfca.edu.