UB establishes summer program for South Korean youth

Fifty college-age youth from South Korea will visit UB this summer as part of a “youth ladder” program established last week by UB and Gyeonggi Province, the largest province in South Korea.

The program was established with the signing of a memorandum of understanding on April 12 by President Satish K. Tripathi and Gov. Kim Dong Yeon at the SUNY Global Center in Manhattan. SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. was on hand for the signing.

The program will run for four weeks in July and offer the South Koreans an opportunity to learn about U.S. higher education and research universities, American culture and Western New York, as well as interact with UB students and faculty for cultural and intellectual exchange.

The Koreans will be able to develop their language skills, multicultural abilities and global understanding through language study, experiential learning and interaction with U.S. students of similar ages and interests.

UB’s English Language Institute will present a custom-designed, theme-based, English language program for the Korean students.

A key component of the program will be daily interaction between Korean and American students, administrators said. The American students will take part in afternoon activities on campus and attend field trips in the community. They will help the Korean students with their English language skills, introduce them to the Buffalo Niagara region and provide unique, personal insights into the life of young adults in the United States.

President Satish K. Tripathi noted that the collaboration with Gyeonggi Province “represents a wonderful opportunity for our own students, who like our guests, will benefit from the lively interactions and cultural exchange that the summer program fosters.”

“We are likewise eager to introduce these outstanding Korean university students to U.S. higher education — in particular the transformative opportunities available to them at UB, which will help them advance their career goals,” Tripathi said. “Partnerships such as the one we formalize today are particularly exciting for their potential to help cultivate the globally minded leaders that our world needs.”

Added Nojin Kwak, vice provost for international education: “UB’s partnership with Gyeonggi Province enables us to host this large group of excellent students from South Korea, whose exposure to UB will foster interest in future educational opportunities here. In turn, our students will benefit from working closely with their Korean counterparts during the program and be inspired to consider studying Korean language and culture, as well as the possibility of study abroad in South Korea.”

The program with UB is the latest of the South Korean province’s initiatives with U.S. universities; the University of Michigan and the University of Washington also host summer youth ladder programs in partnership with Gyeonggi Province.

The summer initiative is of particular interest to Kim, who came from a less privileged background and wanted to create a program “to give opportunities to young Koreans of limited means to have transformative experiences overseas that will enhance their career and life prospects back home,” said John J. Wood, senior associate vice provost for international education. Wood adds that the name — youth ladder — refers to the aim of the program in supporting social mobility in South Korea.

The UB-Gyeonggi partnership was sparked by a previous connection between Kim and Kwak. A former university president, Kim earned his PhD at the University of Michigan, and naturally thought of the university as a potential U.S. partner for the summer program. Kwak at the time was a faculty member at Michigan and director of its Korean Studies Center; he ultimately became involved in running the youth ladder program there.

Wood said the UB-Gyeonggi program likely will extend to future summers. “South Korea is already one of the most popular destinations for UB study abroad students and this program will no doubt enhance that interest,” he said.