International Cooperation Team

My internship with the Seongdon-gu office falls under the International Cooperation Team. All of my supervisors, and “supporters” who have assisted me during this time also work within this department. To my understanding the team works on their own specified tasks that revolve around maitaing or making connections with international entities. For example, my ability to intern with the office comes from a connection that was made between Seongdong-Gu and Cobb county where Kennesaw State University is located.

The main goal of the internship position is to learn as much as I can about the city of Seongdong-Gu, and use what I have learned to create content for the office’s blog. In addition to that we will participate in a live broadcasting where we will highlight a popular initiative of the city government. The point of this is to help the city gain interest from tourists, and to encourage Korean citizens to move to the city.

So far I have learned that Seongdong-Gu is very community oriented. All improvements done to the community, or being done with the community, revolve around education, and health. It’s my job to understand things like this and report about it daily to my supervisor.

On a day-to-day basis I pretty much come in at 9am, work on my report that goes over what I have learned about the city the day before, head out to lunch, and then in the afternoon we go out into the city to learn about a new facility or area. Essentially, my supporters or supervisor take me on daily tours that help me learn about the city. We have visited community centers, landmarks, and really any place in the city that represents the city well. I actually really enjoy it even though I’m technically working. I thought that I wouldn’t have a chance to sightsee, but my job is sightseeing. Sometimes we even go to places outside of Seongdong-gu, but my job is to Seongdong-gu.

I also think that this internship benefits the International Cooperation team because they get an opportunity to teach a foreigner about their city, further strengthen ties with their international connections. It’s a win-win for everybody!