Information for term K-Pop Immersion
Application deadline, and cost information.
Overview
Click to OpenGo behind the scenes to study this pop culture phenomenon.
What’s it all about? K-pop (short for Korean pop music) covers a range of musical styles, from electronic and dance-pop to hip hop and R&B. The craze is characterized by cutting-edge music videos with striking audiovisual elements, trendsetting fashion, and highly skilled choreography. Creative use of art, graphics, costumes, and color make this an art form well worth studying.
With CIEE staff, you’ll take a special K-pop tour to several trendy sites throughout the city and visit modern and historic sites from music videos, dramas, and other media about Korea. Experience the extreme fan culture first-hand. Attend an Indie concert to experience music beyond K-pop.
You’ll also visit HYBE INSIGHT, the K-pop mecca dedicated to the music, technology, fashion, and fandom surrounding BTS and the other groups represented by HYBE (previously known as Big Hit Entertainment). Here, you can learn more about the artists and their process for making music and how artists and producers work together as well as look into the lives of the individual artists and what inspires them.
Back in the classroom, guest lecturers on the forefront of the movement such as music producers, songwriters, critics, and choreographers round out your daily K-Pop Immersion class curriculum and deepen your experience. The Korean Spirit & Culture Workshop, part of orientation for all students, introduces you to the Korean language, as well as Korean concepts, values, and customs, such as learning to bow.
Follow our Travels:
The Take-Aways
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REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE
Round out your knowledge of Korean art, history, and culture through daily classes, activities and visits. Gain a deeper understanding of the forces driving Korean popular culture.
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LIFELONG SKILLS AND FRIENDSHIPS
After just 3 weeks away, you'll build self-confidence, gain a broader world view, improve your interpersonal communication skills and make lifelong friends from all across the U.S.
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CREDENTIALS FOR YOUR FUTURE
Topics for your college essays, experience to inform your future career, and a Certificate of Participation.
Location & Culture
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The Destination
A lively center of design, tech, and entertainment.
Seoul has hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup, and 2010 G-20 Seoul Summit. But its most enduring award is its designation as a UNESCO City of Design. There’s no better place to study art, business, language, and more than in this lively center of design excellence and information technology.
Seoul is a city that embraces both a modern and traditional way of life. You’ll find historic palaces and peaceful Buddhist temples juxtaposed with extreme skyscrapers and neon lit entertainment, 24/7. Seoul is a city that never sleeps!
By studying abroad with CIEE in this city of more than 25 million inhabitants, you’ll explore pop culture in its full context. Along with in-depth tours of digital entertainment studios, you’ll visit museums, galleries, theaters, cultural venues, and historic monuments and sites to learn how the intellectual and cultural foundation was paved for modern Korean society.
Seoul is a food lover’s city, too, so bring your appetite! Did you know that a typical Korean meal comes with seven or eight separate side dishes? And free refills to boot. Favorite foods include dumplings and noodles, bibimbap, and barbeque.
CIEE wants all our students to feel welcomed, supported, and empowered to succeed while studying abroad. Local CIEE staff have provided details about conditions and cultural attitudes that students with specific identities might encounter in Seoul.
Daily Life
Click to OpenDaily Life
Every day brings new discoveries and fun, but you can always count on a perfect balance between interactive instruction, excursions and free time! Here's what to expect on a typical day:
- 7:00 am: Get up and have breakfast at your dorm/hotel
- 8:00 am: Walk or take public transportation to CIEE for morning instruction
- 9:00 am - 12:00 pm: Interactive class with a local teacher. Format may change to workshops or guest lectures, depending on the day.
- 12:00 pm - 1:00pm: Find a fun spot to grab lunch with your friends (your program tuition includes a stipend for lunches).
- 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm: Gather back at CIEE to go on today's cultural activity or excursion.
- 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm: Each activity or excursion is designed to echo what you learned in class that morning.
- 5:00 pm - 7:00pm: Free time! Hang out with your friends and shop. Commute back to your hotel/dorm.
- 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm: Dinner
- 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm: Wrap up any homework. Usually just readings or personal research for your project.
- 10:00 pm: Lights out!
Learn more about daily life on a high school study abroad program by reading our blog posts below.
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All sessions will stay in a Hotel.
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24/7 Support from your CIEE program leader and in-country CIEE staff members
Program Blogs
Click to OpenProgram Blogs
Activities
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Sample Activities
- Take a street food tour to navigate all the tasty choices (and learn what to avoid)
- Create kimchi and other authentic Korean specialties in a cooking class
- Get a 360-degree panoramic view of the city from the N Seoul Tower’s digital observatory on Mt. Namsan.

- Embark on an overnight excursion to a smaller town and stay in a typical Korean house, where you’ll learn first-hand about local food, customs, and traditions.
- Learn about K-pop dance moves at a dance studio by K-pop backup dancers
- Picnic alongside the Han River with local students
- Enjoy busking, street performances and indie concerts
- Tour unique and interesting theme cafes (such as animal cafes, VR, flower cafes, etc.)
- Travel to locations featured in Korean dramas, films, and K-pop music videos
- Eat at dining establishments run by K-pop entertainment companies or K-pop artists themselves
- Take part in community service
Please note this list of activities is based on past programs and subject to change at CIEE's discretion to both adapt to local circumstances, covid-related measures and restrictions and participant feedback. Our goal when revising itineraries is always to enhance your experience. Every activity is designed to provide you with a deep immersion in your topic, local culture and sights. Get ready for maximum fun!
Dates & Fees
Click to OpenDates & Fees
Eligibility
- Program open to all current high school students: Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors.
- For scholarship eligibility requirements, please check our Scholarship page.
Application Fee
$25
Program scholarships and tuition include iNext Travel Insurance, but do not cover the cost of flights. More details about tuition inclusions can be found here.
Program |
Application Due |
Start Date |
End Date |
Costs |
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Summer Session I 2023 3 weeks | May 1, 2023 | Jun 18, 2023 | Jul 8, 2023 |
$5,850 |
Summer Session II 2023 3 weeks | May 31, 2023 | Jul 9, 2023 | Jul 29, 2023 |
$5,850 |
Looking for funding?
Our Staff
Click to OpenOur Staff
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Suzanne Crowder Han
Director
Suzanne’s love of Korea began more than 30 years ago as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and has an M.B.A. from Yonsei University.