Every summer, DSU students have the opportunity to visit various Asian countries though the Dongseo Asia Initiatives Program (DAIP), an overseas exchange program aimed at deepening students’ knowledge and understanding of the societies and cultures of the Asian region.

It is taught and conducted by professors who are preeminent in their respective fields, and provides participating students with opportunities to apply the knowledge they have learned in their majors at DSU and to gain practical experience.

Here are some highlights of two students’ accounts of their DAIP experiences this summer:

Yang Hyeon-ji, Leisure Sports Science, Junior.

When I saw the area around the University of Malaya (UM), I realized that my stereotypes about the backwardness of Southeast Asia were completely mistaken.

The pace of development visible around me was so rapid, and the society was full of vitality.

I decided right then and there I wanted to know Asia even more.

Our group was welcomed warmly, and we had many extracurricular activities, tours, and visits in addition to our classes. The classes were on the subject of ‘Understanding Southeast Asian e-sports Culture’ and were taught by our team Professor Lee Byeongchoon in addition to UM professors.

Although it was short, I think DAIP will help my life a lot. Thank you to DSU, UM, and Professor Lee for giving us the opportunity to broaden our global perspective!

Lee Soo-yeon, International Commerce, Senior.

I applied for the 7th DAIP Cambodian Team this year.

Due to the large number of applicants, the competition rate was 4 to 1! After being selected, participating students studied the work of team leader Professor Jeong Soo-won, famous for his Cambodia studies.

Under his guidance, we selected general merchandise (cosmetics, Korean traditional wallets, etc.) to learn about Cambodia’s politics, economy, society, and culture, and to experience local marketing in the classroom at Cambodia University for Specialties.

Through our activities here, I realized that a thorough investigation of what products the people of the country prefer and buy is important for international marketing.

I was able to directly appreciate DSU for running an internationalization program to broaden our students’ perspectives.