The today’s program started at 07.45 at the hotel lobby and included a visit to the SKK University and to the Swiss embassy in Seoul. After a long journey with the subway in which was more space than we expected. The manager of the international department, Mrs Kim Hee-Kyoung, warmly welcomed us. Following a short introductory video, the class was amazed by the spirit of the university and is contemporary approach to teaching.
After this, the MBA program Director Mr Sang Soo Lee gave us a short presentation over the MBA Program of the SKK University. The innovative structure sounded very appealing and convinced us entirely. It might be possible that for some ZHAW students it wasn’t the last visit at the SKK University.
As interesting as the first part, the Assistant Professor, Mr Wooyeal Paik held an interactive and enjoying lecture over the current issue of East Asian political economy and security. His insights provided us with a deeper understanding of the prevailing situation in South Korea and the country itself.
The visit was concluded by a guided tour through the university historic premises. It was very fascinating to see the student’s way of living in past decades. For example four students lived in a room of six square meters. This first part of today’s program was finished with a delicious traditional Korean meal.
Before the second point on today’s agenda we enjoyed some leisure time. At 16:00 we met again for visiting the Swiss embassy in Seoul. Mrs Lynn Reinhart friendly welcomed us. After the introduction and the overview of the today’s agenda we had some time to receive an impression of an embassy residence. The ambassador of Switzerland Mr Thomas Kupfer held an interesting speech in his “current” living room. He emphasised the massive growth of South-Korea in the last four decades from a poor country to the 12th regarding the GDP. Furthermore, he mentioned the traditional Korean lifestyle and that only 200 Swiss live in South-Korea. After the speech of the ambassador Mr Claudio Mazzuchelli, Swiss Business Hub, presented his job and the current situation of the trade relation between South-Korea and Switzerland.
Finally, the embassador invited us to a delicious snack.