Today was an extremely wet, rainy day. We had a tour of Yonsei University on our itinerary. Arriving at the campus after a long bus ride, I was in awe of its beauty and size. We began the day with lunch in the cafeteria, where the students eat. I got an omurice dish with fried shrimp and sweet and spicy fried chicken. After eating lunch, we walked to the garden where we learned about the founder of Yonsei and the history behind his statue. It was fascinating to find out that the statue had been replaced twice for battles that occurred in the past. The campus was a battleground at one point, which was seen in the bullet holes on the statue’s base. I found this very fascinating and sentimental to what the university is built off of. After taking a group photo in the garden, we went to the business building for a tour. As soon as I walked in, I was immediately drawn toward the giant steps with bean bags where students were relaxing, napping, or studying. I became jealous of the students because this spot was so comfortable, quiet, and lowly lit. The university looked as if these buildings were just recently built as they had the newest technology and overall modernized look. Beneath the building were dozens of food spots including a Starbucks. This easy access for the students adds to the value of the university and how well the students are taken care of.

After the business building, we toured the research facility, where Yonsei students can gain experience and make an impact in the medical and engineering fields. It was mesmerizing to see all of the cutting-edge devices, such as electron microscopes and small reactors. I became excited, knowing that I will soon be able to work with devices like these in my upcoming years at Pitt.
We got a private tour of a professor’s lab for the last part of the university tour! As we walked through the lab into the different rooms, we spoke with students who are researching brain activity in mice. They did a wonderful job of explaining what they do and why they do it. I found it so interesting that they do everything in the lab on their own, including raising the mice. To wrap up the tour, we got to speak to some cool neuroscience students at Yonsei. We used this time to converse with them openly about what they do in Korea to have fun, where they go to eat, and get to know them. Throughout all of the tours around the campus and speaking with the students, I was so impressed with their English, some learning at a very young age, and others in recent years. It was a great experience at Yonsei University.