Learn about International Business Major with Ramona!

International Business is one of the four concentrations of International Studies that Ewha GSIS offers. In this post, hopefully, you will learn more about this concentration through our interview with a current master’s student in International Business.

Following, we have an interview with Ramona, a Master’s Student in her first semester at Ewha GSIS!

Could you tell us about yourself?

My name is Ramona. I come from Romania (I know the similarity of my country`s name to my name is confusing) and I am a first semester master’s student majoring in International Business here at Ewha GSIS.

How did you come to know about this program at Ewha GSIS? 

First of all, I am a Business Administration graduate, so I have been studying business for as long as I have been a university student. However, I have been meaning to broaden my understanding of business past the borders of my own country and so I decided to look for a program that would be more “international”. What better way to “go international” than to seek an International Business master program in a foreign country? 

In addition to that, I have been interested in, if not passionate about South Korea and Korean culture for more than 12 years now, which naturally led me to seek a master’s program in Korea. In order to do that, I applied for a scholarship called KGSP/GKS (Korean Government Scholarship Program) of which I found Ewha GSIS to be the most attractive option. I researched further on the school and learned of the prestige and the quality of the program, which convinced me quite quickly.

Could you explain to us about the program? 

My program is a 2 year long/4 semester program that aims to foster the next generation of global women in business. With globalization and “freer” markets, business opportunities are increasing. All of my classes have a practical aspect rather than just a theoretical one. Also, as it is a graduate school, it often happens that debates, discussions and student presentations are our main activity in class instead of traditional lectures which are one-sided. There is also plenty of support from the university in terms of research and publication, as we are often encouraged to pursue activities in that direction.

In terms of graduation requirements, it is a program offering students two options: either a thesis-track (when a student chooses to write a dissertation paper/thesis) or a credits-track (where a student can graduate by earning a set number of credits, higher than in the other track`s case).

What is the biggest advantage of this program?  

I can actually think of several. One is the fact that we are part of the Department of International Studies along with the International Relations, International Trade and Development Cooperation majors. As part of the department, we, as students can (and are actually required to) register for very interesting courses of our choice from these other majors. In that sense, it becomes a great chance to expand your knowledge in multiple directions, not limited to international business.

Another advantage would be the fact that the environment is very culturally diverse. from the point of view of culture. There are students here from all possible corners of the world. So, getting to meet these other students, to work with them and to interact represents not only an amazing way to learn about the uniqueness of their cultures, but is a process through which you get to realize new things about yours, as well. You can experience this diversity during classes, too, when one discussion brings to the surface so many different, interesting, multicultural points of view over one topic. Professors, as well, come from various backgrounds and bring to class valuable knowledge, experiences and opinions.

What do you personally enjoy about this program?

Academically speaking, the program is, personally, a bit challenging, which gives me a good push to work hard and develop myself. But more than that, the overall welcoming atmosphere, the openness of all of my colleagues AND professors, the genuine intention of everyone here to be better and to make a better world for themselves and others is truly inspiring and makes me aspire towards being a better human myself. Not only do I learn about international business, but I learn about how the environment and societies can be affected by it, how beneficial international business has the potential to be by improving lives and economies, but how harmful it can become if not conducted in an ethical, responsible way. And this approach to things that I found in Ewha GSIS is what I would say I appreciate the most.

Last comments ?

Ewha GSIS is a great place from many points of view, but I would also like to praise our Ewha campus (see photos attached). I have only been able to see the summer and the autumn version of it until now, but judging by how the changes have been manifesting themselves and by how beautiful and calming the campus is (despite the constant frenzy of students), I am truly excited for the next season`s changes. Green indeed seems to be the best representative colour for Ewha… and how lucky I am that my favourite colour is green! ^^