The summer vacation is over and now the fall semester begins. For Korean students, summer vacation is quite a long vacation, lasting from mid or late June to late August. This period of nearly two months is surely important to us, and what we do during the vacation depends on each person’s taste. Some people go travelling domestically or abroad while other students enjoy their hobbies. However, due to the public tendency which values “spec (refers to the qualities required for getting a job; English test score, GPA, education background, etc)”, most of the young twenty-somethings spend their vacation preparing for the job hunt. According to a survey among 1,140 undergraduates conducted by Job Korea, overwhelmingly more than half (60.8%) of Korean university students said that they were planning to look for employment during the summer break, and 21.8% respondents said they would “upgrade their appearance”. Lastly, 15.6% said they would earn money to pay their tuition fees for the upcoming fall semester. Considering the fact that appearance is also regarded as one of the features of “spec”, it is noticeable that Korean students mind their employment preparation even during the vacation and invest time and effort in it. For this issue The Kookmin Review focused on how university students spend their summer vacation, and also met people from many countries. Review asked what students did during the summer recess, what the meaning of the summer vacation is to them, and what is there available to do during the vacation for students. Here are some answers from Koreans you could easily encounter in daily life, and international students who study abroad, and foreigners.

Korea Sophomore Education Major at Kookmin University
Vacation is a time that I can take a break if I worked hard during the semester and can then concentrate on studying again next semester. However, if I didn’t work hard, vacation is a time to prepare in advance for the second semester. I believe we need to work to improve ourselves and also do some activities we are interested in during the summer break. Now I am studying for the TOEIC exam and meeting my high school friends.

Korea Junior International Business Major at Kookmin University
There is a saying “you should travel to Europe even if you have to take out a loan.” People say that because it is worth that much. Seeing the lives of those who have an entirely different culture from ours allows us to understand that we are different from each other. Introspection, thousands of kilometers away from here was one of the greatest values that I experienced. I travelled alone across six countries in Europe by train. On the journey, I saw both tangible and intangible environments that nature and people had made. They gave me the opportunity to broaden my horizon.

Korea Sophomore at Kookmin University
From late July to early August, I participated in an art fair named “ASYAAF” (Asian Students and Young Artists Art Festival). ASYAAF is a youth-led annual art fair. Undergraduates and under thirty-year-old graduate artists submit their fascinating art works to get selected. Besides submittingtheirart works, students can also volunteer to help the event as an art dealer, a docent or a camera staff. This internship program is called the Student Art Manager program. This was my second time participatingin the fair and involved in the Student Art Manager program. This year, I worked at the division of Education Program for Kids. I served as a museum docent and an assistant to the educators. I took the kids on a tour around the exhibition giving explanations about the art works from the view point of children.
The reason why I participated in ASYAAF twice was that I could feel the young vibrant spirit from every single details of the fair unlike any other existing art fairs. In fact, the art pieces are not the works of the well-known and established artists. The themes, styles and objects are novel and uniquejust like young people. In addition, ASYAAF is a meaningful festival for those who want to become full-time artists since the total feepaid by the customer goes directly to the artists. I was lucky to join the festival again this year and I had a beautiful experience to meet the artworks and have conversations with kids about the paintings and sculptures.

Hong Kong

Cho Yoon-Jung, Bachelor of Arts Sophomore at the University of Hong Kong
The difference between Korea and Hong Kong is not as dramatic as that of Korea and the United States and the United Kingdom because they are both Asian countries. However, Hong Kong society cares less about specs and licenses than Korean society, so students spend their vacation preparing for the job that they want to get. Tuition fees are also cheaper than Korea and schools have great scholarship systems, so when it comes to part-time jobs, it is only for those who want them. Above all, the entrance rate of universities in Hong Kong is around thirty percent. (Compared to that of Korea, it is a much lower rate; the rate in Korea is 71.3%) In Hong Kong, students do what they want to do and learn what they want to learn, so this period depends on their taste.

United Kingdom
Luke McGlynn, Teacher at the British Council, Swansea City
For U.K students there are 3 important vacations; Christmas (2 to 3 weeks), Easter (1 to 2 weeks) and summer (4 to 6 weeks). During Christmas time most students go home from university to see their family and friends in their home town. Usually they do some work during that time but for the most part people relax and spend time with loved ones. Easter is usually less of a holiday as people are preparing for exams and finishing essays. Most students spend this time completing work and catching up on work they haven’t finished. Summer vacation is very long and students very rarely do any school work. Some get temporary jobs, go travelling or just spend time at home with their family.

Mongolia
Junior International Business Major at Kookmin University
For Mongolians, summer vacation is a time to take a rest from school stress and work on our future careers by working; not studying. Students usually meet up with high school friends or university friends and go camping in the countryside for a day or so. They also usually don’t work for internship but rather for money. They go to many parties, and take trips in the countryside with their families.

United States
Lee Seung-Min, Sophomore Hospitality & Tourism Management Major at Purdue University
I worked all day long throughout the summer vacation. I interned at a hotel from May to July since my major required me to do internship. A friend of mine went to China to study abroad. ‘Studying abroad’ and the exchange student program in Korea are much the same. Studying abroad could help in finding a job, and students could use this experience to put in their records, so many of them study abroad during the vacation. Some students do part-time jobs and earn money, and some participate in missionary summer camps every vacation as guides.

Bangladesh
Imtiaz Ahmed Khan, Graduate Student at Kookmin University
In Bangladesh, the vacation is very short, between fifteen days and one month long. Frankly speaking, sometimes we don’t have any vacation due to political movements. Political instability still breaks out in my country so we have to arrange extra classes when there is a political protest. In these cases the time table covers the vacation period, which we don’t like and is hard to overcome. Most of my friends go to their hometown and visit their parents and grandparents. Some of my friends take advanced technical courses which might be helpful for the next semester or for their future careers. Some of my friends are involved in non-government organizations (NGO). They volunteer according to the organization’s programs such as Teaching English Camp, Science Club, Computer school and cultural activities to raise awareness to children and teenagers.

The Review looked at university students’ summer vacations from various countries. Although we live in different countries and have different cultures, we can see that to students, vacation is a valuable time when we can makes plans or prepare for goals. How did you spend your summer vacation?