Charlie Villeda-Nube found out about the Korea Scholars Program when he was applying to PC. He loved the idea of learning more about Korean culture and exploring the country.
The sophomore from Clinton, N.C., was accepted into the program and introduced to Korean culture, music, and language during his first-year exploration course. The summer after his freshman year, he and other students in the Korea Scholars Program traveled to Korea.
The students took classes at Hannam University in Daejeon, more than 7,000 miles from the PC campus. They immersed themselves in Korean culture, traveling to Seoul, to Busan, and other cities along the way. One of the highlights for Villeda-Nube was visiting the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, a buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea.
During the tour of the DMZ, the students learned about the history of the conflict between North and South Korea.
“One of the soldiers who was touring said that the river carried the blood of those who sacrificed their lives to protect the country,” Villeda-Nube said. “After that, we visited a memorial graveyard where the bodies of British soldiers were buried and had a moment of silence.”
The students went into one of the military towers in the DMZ and were able to see North Korea through binoculars.
“We saw their flags, and it was very surreal knowing that an invisible line was separating two worlds,” Villeda-Nube said. “The best part was seeing how calm the ‘no man’s land’ was at the DMZ. All you felt was the breeze coming off the plains.”
The students then visited a Korean army base.
“They let us ride in the armored vehicles, and they showed us their equipment and gear,” Villeda-Nube said. “They showed us their new technology and drones that can carry weapons and shoot at the enemy or drop explosives.”
The DMZ was only one of the many sites the students visited during their four-week stay in Korea. They also visited the Hyundai Motors plant in Gwangmyeong, stayed in a traditional Korean village, and explored Goeje Island. They even took in the Hanwha Eagles and Doosan Bears baseball game.
“We got a mixture of everything,” Villeda-Nube said. “The Korea Scholars Program opened my eyes up to a whole new world.”
