Fordham Law students visited South Korea this summer as part of the annual Summer Program in Seoul, a two to three-week long academic program that provides students with a unique opportunity to not only learn firsthand about the South Korean legal system, but also experience the country’s dynamic culture.
The program is co-sponsored by Fordham Law School and Sungkyunkwan University College of Law in Seoul, which allows students to obtain law school credit and internship opportunities with legal employers in Seoul.
“The program provides valuable lessons about how a legal system works in a different country or in an international setting through the program’s classes, field trips, and interacting with local students, who take the same classes with the American students” said Fordham Law Professor Youngjae Lee, Director of the Fordham-Sungkyunkwan Summer Institute in International Law.
Classes were held in central Seoul on SKKU’s mountainside campus and students had the option of staying in housing provided by the program. The coursework was supplemented with academically enriching field trips across the city, including visits to the National Assembly, Supreme Prosecutors Office, Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Korea where students learned about the history and political structure of South Korea.
Students were also invited to a Fordham Law alumni event in Seoul hosted by DLA Piper and attended by Korea- and Japan-based Fordham Law alumni. In addition, students sampled Korean cuisine, saw local cultural sites, and expanded their networks by meeting other law students from across the United States and Korea.
“I always knew I wanted to take summer credits to accelerate my law school journey,” said first-year student Annabelle Larose, who attended the program in June. “When I discovered that Fordham offered a summer course in Korea, I was thrilled as I had always meant to explore the country but never had the opportunity to.”
“Our lunchtime discussions often continued the classroom debates and became a cherished part of the program,” said Larose. “I came in not knowing anyone and left with connections reaching DC, Chicago, New Orleans, and, of course, Seoul.”
Besides learning about the Korean legal system, Fordham students discussed recent political events with Korean law students. They also took courses on International White Collar Crime and Comparative Criminal Law and Dispute Resolution.
Larose said the comparative criminal law class, which focused on the criminal law landscape in Japan, Korea, France, Germany, and the United States, “sparked tremendous curiosity” and “broadened [her]perspective” on the law.
Through condensed academic study, students completed up to five academic credits in just three weeks of coursework. Classes were held in the mornings, with afternoons and evenings free for studying and socializing. The summer study program is an annual opportunity, open to anyone who is seeking law school credits from an American Bar Association-approved law school. In its 20 years, the Summer Program in Seoul has enrolled more than 1,200 students from 10 countries and 70 law schools, in addition to Fordham Law.
Lee said, “A study abroad experience like this disrupts your sense of time in a good way. Two to three weeks you spend in a country very different from ours will vividly take up a disproportionately large portion of your long term memory.”
Larose added, “To anyone considering this program in the future: I can’t recommend it enough … this program offers an unparalleled, immersive experience and a chance to earn credits along the way.”
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