Eun Young Lee
My experience in Japan through CAMPUS Asia Summer School 2013 was one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. Even though this was not my first time in Japan, it was different from any other visits because I was not just traveling, but attended classes everyday, hung out with Japanese friends, and actually lived in Japan for two full weeks. Until this trip, whenever I came to Japan, I was just a tourist staying in Japan for a few days, but this time, I actually felt like I was living in Japan, and what was important was that I adjusted to the Japanese life very easily and enjoyed it very much. I loved the polite people and the clean city of Tokyo.
After school, I went all over Tokyo from Ginza to Shinjuku and Shibuya. Among all the places, Shinjuku was the most convenient place where all the trains and subways merged and where all the department stores and other shopping centers were available. I personally liked the clean and quite Ginza. I loved the small details like the floor tiles and the salary men and women at "nomikai"(going to bar). I also realized how convenient the Japanese public transportation system is once I understood how it works (although it did took me a while to figure out).
One of the most memorable features of Japan was how quickly people recovered (or is recovering) from the Fukushima incident and the deficient energy supply that was only two years ago. At the moment, Korea is suffering hugely from serious power crunch and the government is requiring companies and government, municipal offices to reduce the use of air conditioners under 40 degrees Celsius heatwave. However, according to Japanese media and from my own experience, Japan is not going through the same trouble despite the same hot weather. Only a year ago when I visited Japan, the country was under serious power deficiency where even sidewalk lights were off. I believe such fast recovery is due to Japanese people's frugal and humble way of life. People rarely turn on A/C even when the temperature goes above 40 degrees Celsius.
Through the CAMPUS Asia program at University of Tokyo, I was able to understand the different perspectives and national interests of China, Japan and Korea. By communicating and interacting with students from Japan and China, I came across the differing domestic situations and how this affects country's foreign affairs and especially its relations with the neighboring countries. The most memorable discussion during class was when we talked about the hot territorial issues such on Daiayu/Senkanku and Dokdo/Takeshima and also Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and other politicians visit to the Yasukuni Shrine as August 15 approached. Students openly expressed their own opinions and it really helped me in building my own idea on such unsolvable issues. Although we were not able to come up with a solution, just the fact that we were all very open-minded and were willing to solve the conflict was a sign of hope.
Through field trips to Teijin and Taido City, I learned the distinct culture of Japanese companies where employees devote their whole life once they enter a company, and also about the devotion Japanese people put to their local communities. Luckily, I was able to evidence a "Matsuri" (Japanese festivals during summer) and was amazed by how people actively participated in their local affairs. The meeting with young government officials was also a very productive time where I was able to understand the Japanese bureaucratic system and how the current government is dealing with nuclear power plants.
Overall, I thought the program was very well organized, East Asia relations focused, and discussion-oriented. The TAs were very helpful and I enjoyed meeting different professors everyday and learned a lot from professors and colleagues. If I were to make some points on things that should be improved, it would be the Friday synthesis sessions which are wrap-up sessions of the week with all three professors attending. For both Week One and Two, we were to make group presentations. However, I felt like we were very much short of time. Moreover, it was impossible for group members to gather in such short period of time. For Week Two, we were given time in class, but still, it was not enough time for us to produce a satisfying result. The field trips that were scheduled in the middle of the week were all very interesting and productive. However, for the first field trip where we had three lectures throughout the day which left us little time to tour around Taito city, Sensoji Temple, Tokyo Skytree and other traditional and local places.
I think programs like CAMPUS Asia is a very good tool to get Korea, Japan and China to cooperate and keep close ties. During class, we discussed many ways to recover the antagonistic relationship of the three countries, however, it was difficult to come up with a full-fledged solution. One of our classmate suggested expansion of CAMPUS Asia program where cooperation can start at a low level of interaction among students. I thought this was a very good idea since the youngsters would be the ones that would lead each one's country after all. I also thought that if we expand this to other Asian countries like the ASEAN, students would have a more fruitful experience and would help integrate the Asian region like the EU.
