VOICES
The ACE Program Batch 1
GLAP
Ms.Asako Kakihara
As one of the first students to participate in the ACE program, I have been studying abroad since last September, spending one semester at Seoul National University (SNU) and now another at the National University of Singapore (NUS). After saying goodbye to SNU, I am still feeling quite nostalgic, but I have had some amazing experiences along the way, and I hope I can share snippets of my time in Seoul here.
The ACE program at Seoul National University is a part of the College of Liberal Studies (CLS), which offers a wide range of studies, but sadly a limited number of courses taught in English.
One of my favorite classes at SNU was Selected Topics Seminar 3, a course unlike any other I have taken as a university student. It was a CLS course that focused on avant-garde art movements of the past and and learned about the theories and ideas that artists of that time tried to establish. My professor encouraged students to not only learn about the history but also to apply our newly gained knowledge to question how past art movements and artists' ideas remain in the present day and how they have influenced the art of today. What I loved most about this class was the fact that we actually got to go see exhibited artworks in person. We visited an art museum on SNU campus, as well as the nearby MMCA exhibition in which we had the chance to meet the curator. Although the class was largely lecture-based, mostly consisting of individual work, I found the content fascinating and came away feeling inspired.
Another takeaway from this course would be that it reminded me of the fun that comes from taking something I learned in class out of the lecture room and about the importance of adopting the attitude of constantly questioning the norm.
Perhaps one of the biggest highlights of my time at SNU was a field trip to Busan with some fellow students, all part of the ACE program in some way from SNU and Rikkyo. The main purpose of this mini-project was to exchange cultures between Japan and Korea and to create a video, which we edited to be a vlog. The theme of the project we agreed on was "food," as it was a common interest amongst all of us. We tasted the Korean dish, Gukbap in Seoul and Busan, reviewed its historical background, and explored what similarities and differences there were compared to Japanese Ozōusui and other similar dishes. We also went on a night yacht ride to see the sparkling night view of the city and visited some of Busan’s tourist attractions. It was short but such a fun and memorable trip, and I felt a real sense of connection with my ACE program community.
Unbelievably, as I am writing this, my second semester of study abroad at NUS is already coming to an end and I am trying to make the most of my time here. It is bittersweet to think that my journey supported by the ACE program is almost over, but I am determined to enjoy all of it until the very end. I also look forward to the intensive program in the summer and the new experiences it will bring my way.