This summer, 13 Students and two faculty members are traveling to South Korea to study Korea’s remarkable economic journey in the post-war period, while strengthening their skills and deepening their understanding of leadership in action in the world. Please enjoy this blog post on the groups fourth day in Korea from Bryan ’26 and Julia ’26 where they share how students explored Seoul through a challenging hike to Seoul Tower that emphasized leadership, accountability, and resilience, followed by an immersive journey into Korea’s royal past at Gyeongbokgung Palace, where history, tradition, and hanboks came vividly to life.
By Bryan ’26:
Today, we visited Seoul Tower in a trek that was unforgettable. We started off the day eating breakfast before going to our daily briefing at 8:30 am. At the briefing, we got together in groups and discussed the previous days’ question of the days and then got into groups to plan our student-led explorations which would happen on Sunday. With our groups, we discussed the qualities of leaders and how we could incorporate it into our hike to Seoul Tower and in our student-led explorations. One of the main ideas that was brought up is accountability and awareness of your surroundings — two things that we discussed on Friday regarding our Buddhist temple experience. With these ideas of leadership, we took a short bus ride to the base of the hill where Seoul Tower was located and got ready for our hike. Before starting, we designated Linnea as the “Water Wizard” so that she could remind everyone to drink water because it was a humid, 80-degree, day. This was the first form of leadership that was present in our hike up to Seoul Tower. Furthermore, the trip leaders made a goal for us to not use our phones except for pictures when we were on our hike, a solid demonstration of accountability. Along with the phone rule, the trip leaders urged us to be aware of our surroundings and to stay more silent like the locals were, furthermore, highlighting the ideas of awareness and accountability with our leadership on this trip. The rest of the hike was an uphill battle — there were plenty of staircases and steep inclines that everyone pushed through with grit and determination. Another thing that we had learned from our hike to the Buddhist Temple on Friday was that alpha wolves stay in the back of the pack when moving around to protect and serve as leaders for the pack as they are the most capable if anything were to ever go wrong. So, with the alpha wolve mindset Spencer and Ted (and myself) stayed in the back encouraging the other students to finish the hike and that they could do it. When we reached the halfway point, there was the option to take a bus or go up a steep and brutal incline of stairs. Part of the group chose the bus ride — in a demonstration of a leadership trait of knowing your own boundaries — and others chose the hike up — demonstrating grit. I chose the hike up. The hike up was brutal but fun and we had many opportunities to take stunning photos of the Seoul landscape. When we reached the top, we met up and ate a fantastic lunch. Following lunch, we had some time to roam around Seoul tower and explore, which is when Spencer, Ted, and I found a wall full of writing with meaningful messages. We wrote a few messages about Deerfield and how we loved Korea and returned to the group, ready for whatever the day called for next!
By Julia ’26:
After an awe-inspiring hike that left our calves screaming and our souls soaring, we boarded a time-traveling bus. One moment we were sweaty tourists, the next, we were teleported straight into the Joseon Dynasty, where kings reigned, guards glared, and palace walls whispered centuries of royal drama.
Built in 1395, Gyeongbokgung is not just Seoul’s most iconic palace, but its historic heart—constructed shortly after the city became the capital, a physical and symbolic center of Korean sovereignty and vision. It flourished most under the reign of Sejong the Great, whose legacy goes far beyond the political influence, as he gifted his people Hangul, the native Korean language. It is strange and beautiful to imagine that the letters on street signs and menus we so casually read during our time here, now appeared to be once born in this very palace.
Unfortunately, the glory days wrapped up in 1592 during the Imjin War, when the palace was burned to the ground. It wasn’t until the late 19th century, under King Gojong, that they were able to rebuild it.
In the present day, the palace serves its new purpose: impressing tourists and challenging their capacity to endure heat while pretending to understand history. As we entered through the towering gates, the weight of centuries seemed to rest lightly on the air. Guards stood unmoving in ceremonial brilliance, dressed in vibrant colors that caught the sun and made the past feel suddenly, vividly present. And, as the background was filled with loud cheer from the political rallies (as the current Korean election approaches), at exactly 14:00—a daily and extremely punctual event—the changing of the guards began. With synchronized stomping and color-coordinated ensembles, the royal guards emerged, fully committed to their centuries-old choreography. We, along with other tourists, stood still, half-cooked and fully captivated, as the drums thundered the beginning and end of the ceremony.
Inspired (and possibly delusional from the heat), we decided it was time. Hanboks on. Bright, billowing, and breathtakingly tight in all the wrong places, these traditional garments transformed our modern selves into ancient royalty. Everyone was given the opportunity to choose a color that best represented their interpretation of the soul (I chose the blue one fyi). After, we headed out to explore the inside of palace, its pond, its architecture, and the quiet stories of the ancient Korea etched into every corner.
And then there is a need to mention Jessica’26—our green key, our Shayla, our queen of sass—who truly completed the fantasy, as she kept the mood going, as no day comes without mentioning her.
After a million photos together, the royal trip lasted precisely as long as it took for our group to collectively overheat and seek refuge in the nearest ice cream shop.
Thus concluded a day where the past came alive, roasted everyone alive, and sent us to the next village exploration with a slightly better appreciation for Korean history—and a significantly better appreciation for air conditioning.
Joseon was fun.
