Hi everyone! My name is Erica Schroder and I am a fourth year Business Administration student
with a concentration in Healthcare Management & Consulting and a minor in French. Two years
ago, I embarked on a trip to South Korea for the Global Supply Chain and Cross-Cultural
Literacy dialogue. I met some amazing people and learned a lot about Korea and global supply
chains, so let me take you through a typical day in Seoul!
Mornings in Korea started around 8 AM so I could get any homework I had for the day done to
free up more time in the afternoon for exploring. My roommate and I would walk down to
breakfast in the hotel we all stayed in, where we were able to choose from a selection of
American and traditional Korean foods. Most days I had eggs, rice, kimchi, and doenjang jjigae,
a soybean paste soup with vegetables and tofu.
Classes started at 10 AM every day in the hotel’s conference room, and lasted until 12 PM. Our
first class was Supply Chain and Operations Management where we learned about the basics of
supply chain and how to navigate operational and logistical difficulties in business. This class
was my favorite because the professor was a Seoul native, so he would include mini lectures at
the end of every class about a piece of Korea’s history or a fun site to see in the city. Our next
class was Global Supply Chain Strategy, an upper level course that examined global supply
chains, technology-powered innovations, and contemporary issues that impact international
networks. In this class, we completed case studies on both Korean and American businesses to
understand the current barriers each country faces as well as issues that impacted the global
market as a whole.
After class, the dialogue group would get ready for our daily excursion in Seoul, planned by
Northeastern and our partner institution, Yonsei University. Excursions could be tourist or
academic-based, so I’ll highlight my favorite from both.
Hands down, my favorite tourist excursion was to Gyeongbokgung Palace, the royal palace built
at the end of the 14th century during the Joseon Dynasty. On this day, we were split up into
groups and paired with two students from Yonsei who took us to hanbok rental shops, where we
could rent traditional Korean clothes, hanboks, to wear into the palace for free admission. Once
inside, we were able to walk around the vast palace grounds, learn about the different halls and
living quarters, and take pictures with the hanboks until our rental time was up. Afterwards, the
Yonsei students took us to a local restaurant for dakgalbi, a spicy stir-fried chicken dish with
cabbage, rice cakes, and cheese.
While it doesn’t sound as interesting, our academic excursions gave us tours of things we’d
never normally be able to see. The coolest had to be the tour of Hyundai’s car manufacturing
plant in Jeonju, a city two hours west of Seoul. For this trip, we took a bus ride down to the city
and were given a briefing by an operations manager about their manufacturing process and
what we would be seeing. They gave us privacy agreements and had us put stickers over our
phone cameras before taking us to their assembly line to show us the process of assembling a
Hyundai car as well as a new project they were working on. Afterwards, we were able to walk
around Jeonju’s traditional hanok village, shop, and Jeonju bibimbap, a popular mixed rice dish
served with raw beef and an egg yolk instead of the normal cooked meat and fried egg.
After our excursion, we were given the rest of the day to finish up our homework and explore the
city. Most days, my friends and I explored Myeong-dong, the nearby shopping area, and finished
the day with dinner at our favorite Korean barbeque spot or eating kalguksu, a handmade,
knife-cut noodle soup dish, at a Michelin Guide restaurant we stumbled upon.
My time in Korea was unforgettable and challenging at times. I learned so much about supply
chain, Korean culture, and myself as I navigated through a foreign country in a language I only
spoke a little bit of. While a dialogue in another country can sound daunting, I encourage you to
apply and get out of your comfort zone a bit! The memories and friends you make will stick with
you long after you’ve left, and could be fuel for your next adventure
