2021 Summer Student Exchange Program Experience
Djurdjica Markovic (NAPSer, Serbia)
Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Laboratory of molecular immunology
I always wanted to visit Asia and experience that kind of culture. I was thinking a lot which country would be the best for me and I decided that would be South Korea.
South Korea was the country having perfect match of traditional and modern. Beside my wish to learn new things in pharmaceutical science field, I had no doubt Korea can provide it to me. I also wanted to explore Seoul, because I heard that there’s a lot to experience and see. It wasn’t that easy to get there because of Covid-19. Getting visa and 2 weeks of self-quarantine in South Korea was a big challenge, but those obstacles were not enough to go beyond my dedication and wish and I made it!
From this point of view, I can say that all this effort I made definitely means a lot to me. Thanks to KNAPS SEP staffs and SEO, I had a chance to be a part of a research program at great Ewha University, to learn many new skills I did not have chance to learn before in Serbia. And I also wanted to say thanks to professor Hwang and all lab members for helping me.
[#01. SELF-QUARANTINE]
During the quarantine, we had a chance to see each other through the zoom. KNAPS SEP members had prepared a practical Korean lesson for us. They taught us many interesting Korean phrases that we cannot search on the dictionaries. For example I learned the word “아아” which means iced americano. When I used it in the Starbucks, the lab members were surprised at me and I’ll never forget that word.
[#02. ITAEWON]
After the quarantine, I visited Itaewon. It’s famous about the K-drama named “Itaewon Class”. We had some chicken wings for the dinner and then we moved to the pub. Especially, I loved Itaewon because it had variety of cultures. At Itaewon, you could eat all kinds of food like Indian, American, French and so on. Itaewon is a very crowded town in Seoul usually but sadly at the time, the Corona virus was spreading very quickly, so there were not many people as usual. I hope I could visit Itaewon again and hang out with many people from different countries. Besides, SEP staff told me I can enjoy the club culture of Korea at Itaewon if I visit here again.
[#03. Nami Island]
It is hard to choose which part of the Korea I enjoyed the most because every place I visited was so memorable. If I had to choose one place which made the greatest influence it would be Nami Island, it is like a fairytale. Nami Island is an hour away from Seoul, where I stayed at. It is an independent island and It makes people feel like they are going into another world. It was very beautiful. I heard it would be more beautiful in fall with vibrant colors from the well landscaped trees and plants, so I hope I could visit during fall next time. In this place you can enjoy the superb natural scenery along with biking, kayaking, and many different kinds of thrilling outside activities. There were many various cultural events, exhibitions, and spaces for children, couples, and family to make a great memories. Also, other touristic sites are so special. Especially, wearing hanbok is once a life experience.
Right next day the Korean government had announced their new policy about social distancing, we were not able to meet in more than 2 people after 6pm. Because of that I am very sad that I hadn’t many chances to hang out with SEP staffs, but I will remember all this nice warm people and I will always keep them in my heart. Luckily, the social distancing does no longer apply starting in November, 2021, anyone interested in internship program in South Korea will get more chances to meet more great people from KNAPS SEP team.
I could write and speak about Korea and Seoul a lot, but I just want to make a conclusion. There is no more valuable thing then making new friends and meeting new cultures. This is how we feed our souls and minds. After everything I experienced in Korea, in my heart there is only a wish to visit this beautiful country once again and meet this wonderful people. Because each one of you will have a friend in me for the life.