Unforgettable Thirty Days

Yang Xiaojun from Tsinghua University

This summer, I came to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) located in Daejeon, South Korea, and participated in the one month "Asian Campus - Korean Academy of Science and Technology Laboratory Training Project". The name Daejeon（大田） comes from Chinese and means having great fields. The public research university KAIST was built here in 1971. Unlike Seoul's bustling and Busan's seaside scenery, Daejeon looks more like a peaceful paradise. Some say it's monotonous, while others say it's pure. Daejeon is also known as South Korea's Silicon Valley.

In these 30-day projects, my gains were three-dimensional and full, which was a valuable foreign experience for me and an unforgettable exclusive memory. I would like to share my gains from the following aspects.

Campus:

The most famous landmark of KAIST is The Carillon, located by Duckpond Lake - much like three chocolate bars. The weather has been very good this month, with most of the time sunny, so you can see a very beautiful sky and sunset on campus. There are also cute geese in the school, often wandering around the campus before and after lunch.

Laboratory:

The laboratory I am in is the data mining laboratory of the School of Computer Science. Here, I feel a strong research atmosphere and the enthusiasm of my classmates for scientific research. Our group has a literature seminar every Monday evening, where everyone will share excellent literature they have read recently and have discussions and exchanges; Every Tuesday and Thursday evening, there is a research group seminar where professors provide guidance on students' scientific research progress. At the same time, the students in the research group also help and discuss with each other - the research atmosphere is very strong, especially the research level and knowledge reserve of senior students are admirable. In the process of communicating with them, I have learned a lot. I am very grateful to my Mentor for providing me with a lot of help and friendly support in just a few weeks of communication. The other classmates in the laboratory were also very friendly, and they were very enthusiastic about helping me. The laboratory also has a special "Scissors, Stones, and Cloths" game - usually the loser treats guests for coffee, cleans the room after eating takeout, or is responsible for driving when going out for a meal.

The laboratory environment is also very clean and quiet, making it easy to maintain concentration in thinking. The most interesting thing is that when you want to rest, push open the bathroom door, and you can even hear music and smell the fragrance, making the whole person relax.

Friend:

This project also includes three classmates from Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan and three classmates from Nanyang Institute of Technology in Singapore. We also made two friends with KAIST. During the project, we had meals and outings together. Through chatting and activities, we exchanged culture and ideas and became good friends, leaving behind beautiful memories. We went to Seoul, Jeonju, and Busan together to experience the differences and characteristics among various cities in South Korea. In the project, we had a one-day tour of Hanwu Village in Quanzhou, where everyone experienced Hanfu culture, the fun of handcrafted leather products, and even had authentic Quanzhou rice noodles. On the last weekend of the project, we made our own strategy and plan to go to Busan. We took the capsule train by the seaside, encountered the beautiful seaside sunset, and experienced the childlike charm and artistic sense of the seaside countryside at the White Shoal Cultural Village. In Seoul, I went to Cheong Wa Tai, the National Central Museum, and the Seoul Tower to explore Korean landmarks. I also experienced the charm of trends and fashion in Myeongdong, Hongdae, and Shengshui.

Korean culture:

I think the biggest feeling that the Korean environment gives me is cleanliness and orderliness, and Korean aesthetics permeate every aspect of daily life.

In public places, people will stand on the right side when getting on and off the elevator, giving up their left side to those in a hurry; On public transportation, people do not make loud noises and do not occupy love seats. The mother and baby room can be seen everywhere, and the restroom even plays music and sprays fragrance; People have a strong awareness of environmental protection, and garbage classification is a piece of cake; Everyone pays great attention to their image, dresses neatly and appropriately, and treats people politely and humbly; The most impressive thing for me is that not only girls are good at aesthetics (such as makeup and dressing), but people of any age and class have their own requirements for aesthetics - as evidenced by the patient adjustment when passersby help take photos.

Thanks to making a group of good friends (including project friends and laboratory members), I have experienced a rich Korean cuisine culture. In South Korean culinary culture, kimchi is an indispensable presence like water, and I have truly experienced that 'Korean people have ice American style flowing in their bodies'. The special dishes such as soup rice, barbecue meat, fish cakes, mixed rice, cold noodles, etc. also added many special flavors and taste buds to this trip to Korea.

It is difficult to record and express all my experiences and gains in words, but I know that this thirty-day trip to Korea is an exclusive memory that I will remember for a lifetime and cherish forever.