Happy Laughter on Ice

KU IWC students take skating lessons from KU ice hockey team members

On Jan. 9, 2019, the KU International Winter Campus (IWC) provided skating lessons to its students. Held at Korea University’s Tiger Dome ice rink, the lessons were taught by members of KU’s ice hockey team.

After the IWC students stepped on the ice wearing helmets and protective gear, the program began with the ice hockey players giving a breathtaking skating demonstration. The students all cheered and gave the skaters a big hand.

The students were then split into groups to learn the basic positions of skating. After getting used to standing and walking on ice, the students had a chance to hold their hockey sticks and hit the puck. Then, the students and players were grouped into different teams and tried to shoot the puck into the net. Before too long, and without really noticing, the skating novices got used to being on the ice and enjoyed skating.

Tan Jing Merry, a 22-year-old student from the National University of Singapore, found the skating course useful and interactive. “It was my first time skating today, but thanks to the ice hockey players, I was able to learn how to skate faster than I expected. The best thing in this course was the fact that I could get along with other students while learning how to skate,” said the Singaporean student.

Jun-yeong Lee (’16, Department of Physical Education) and Jae-hee Lee (’16, Department of Physical Education) were among the ice hockey players who taught the visiting students how to skate and found the challenge very rewarding. “I have been an instructor in this program since my freshman year, which carries quite a lot of meaning to me. I always feel rewarded when I can help students from other countries learn ice hockey for the first time in their life.” He continued, “Especially this year, there were many moments when students and players could interact, which made it more interesting for all of us.”

From Dec. 27, the KU IWC embarked on its five-week journey, consisting of three-week credit courses and two-week cultural experience courses.

Since it first opened its doors to students from around the world in 2016, the KU IWC has received a total of 740 students from 88 universities and colleges in 19 countries including Australia, Singapore, the United States, China, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the Republic of South Africa. Known as the best winter campus program in Korea, the KU IWC offers about 30 courses covering different subjects in the fields of business administration, economics, the humanities, science, and Korean language. The courses are taught by IWC faculty members comprised of KU professors and professors from some of the world’s leading universities including King’s College London, the Australian National University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and California State University.

Along with the academic courses provided by prestigious professors, various cultural activities are arranged for the IWC students to experience Korea’s seasonal sports, such as skiing and skating. Other cultural experience programs teach basketball, Taekwondo, calligraphy, K-pop dancing, and Korean cooking. Especially for this year, dance instructors, who were once members of KU dance clubs, will lead the K-pop dance program to teach students and to encourage them to have more interest in K-pop music.