Students from 13 Countries Fall for the Charm of Hallyu – 2025 Sookmyung SISS International Summer School
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- Writer 커뮤니케이션팀
- 보도일자 2025-08-14
The 2025 Sookmyung International Summer School (SISS) took place from Friday, July 18 to Thursday, August 14, bringing together 26 students from 17 universities across 13 countries.
This year’s SISS focused on providing an in-depth understanding and hands-on experience of Hallyu (K-Wave), offering students a special four-week program to immerse themselves in the Korean Wave.
Launched in 2005, SISS is one of Sookmyung Women’s University’s flagship international exchange programs. Held every summer, it invites professors and students from overseas universities to explore Korean language, culture, and academics. In addition to earning credits through seasonal courses, participants also enjoy diverse cultural experiences, making the program highly popular.
This year, students from across Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America joined, highlighting the growing global appeal of Hallyu. Participating countries included Vietnam, France, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Indonesia, Senegal, China, India, Japan, Germany, Brazil, Malaysia, and Kenya.
A standout feature of this year’s program was the newly introduced course, “Understanding K-Culture,” which covered the impact of Hallyu on society and industry, as well as its global expansion, with insights from professors in business, economics, culture, and communication.
One of the course’s key lecturers was Prof. Han Jung-hwan, a former head of the SBS Drama Division and the founding CEO of Studio S, who now serves as an adjunct professor at Sookmyung. Professor Han led sessions on K-Dramas and K-Entertainment, exploring the essence of Korean drama and the reasons behind its global success. Students also had the opportunity to visit the SBS TV’s “Popular Songs (Inkigayo)” music show stage and drama sets to experience the production process firsthand. In the “Korean Language I for Foreigners” course, students were introduced to the basics of Korean, deepening their interest in Korea and its culture.
The cultural experience program was also richly varied. Activities included: a visit to the DMZ, a tour of the Suwon Samsung Innovation Museum, a broadcasting experience at Arirang TV, a visit to the Craft Museum, tours of Lotte World and Gyeongbokgung Palace, and watching a Nanta performance, providing participants with experiences that encompassed both Hallyu and traditional Korean culture.
In the K-POP dance class, Sookmyung alumna and dancer/YouTuber Heo Hwi-soo personally taught choreography to recent hit songs, receiving an enthusiastic response from the students.
Adinda Safitri Ayuningsih, a student from Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI: Indonesia University of Education), remarked, “It was impressive to be able to see the K-Culture theories we learned in class come to life in real settings. The stage I saw during the SBS TV’s ”Popular Songs“ recording will be an unforgettable memory.”
Chun Seh-jae, Dean of International Affairs, stated,“The Sookmyung International Summer School offers young students from around the world a meaningful opportunity to learn the Korean language and culture, and to experience various aspects of Korean values firsthand, while building a global network.” He added, “I hope this experience enhances the students’ global competencies and helps establish Sookmyung as a leader in global education.”
