DAEGU, South Korea - Soldiers from the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command and students from Kyungpook National University participated in the eighth iteration of the 19th ESC's Korea Less Traveled program from May 2 to June 2, 2017. The purpose of this program is to connect a Korean student with a soldier currently stationed in Area IV as partners to explore lesser-known parts of the Korea Peninsula and bolster cultural awareness.
Soldiers and KNU students met for the first time at the opening ceremony, May 2. On that day, teams were paired and given challenges to complete over the next four weeks. There were six categories of challenges: KNU, U.S. military, Korean movies, Daegu, Korean National and creative. Teams were required to submit photographic proof of having completed the assignment in order to be awarded points. Final KLT awards were categorized as basic, silver or gold based on the number of accumulated points.
"For me, the most impressive experience was visiting the U.S Army base and my partner's barracks," said KNU senior Taegon Kim. "If it was not for this event, it would not have been possible to experience it. Also, because my two partners were more open minded than I thought, I was able to complete the challenges without any problems."
The eighth iteration of the KLT program came to a close at KNU June 2. The entire KLT group celebrated their experience with a short video showcasing the teams' challenge process. Participants and others in attendance cheered and applauded as the video played.
All of the KLT program participants received a Certificate of Achievement for their team efforts. Although all participants did well, the points determined the winning team. KNU senior Minseung An and Spc. Kendra L. Stofflet, 551st Inland Cargo Transfer Company, achieved the highest score.
"It was an experience that I'll never forget," said Stofflet. "I've been here for a while now but this was my first time traveling outside [of] Camp Carroll. With my partner, I experienced various Korean cultures and it was definitely a great experience for me. I would recommend this program to others in my company."
The ninth iteration of the Korea Less Traveled program will take place this fall with exact dates to be determined. For additional information please contact:
David, Sung Hwan Kim
Email: sunghwan.kim10.ln@mail.mil
DSN: 763-4395
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