1. Course objectives
Postechian Core Capabilities: Global Citizenship Capability (70%), Creative Convergence Capability (30%)

This course develops English proficiency through Extensive Reading (ER) of literary works. Students read novel chapters at home, write questions and answers, and discuss them in small groups in class. The course also includes a virtual language exchange with MIT students learning Korean, giving both groups meaningful practice in their target language.

Courses offered below the program's current level

N/A

Week Date Reading Activity/Due
1 M9/7 Introduction
W9/9 FA, Epigraph ~progress report 8
2 M9/14 FA, progress reports 9-10
W9/16 FA, progress reports 11
3 M9/21 FA, progress reports 12-13
W9/23 FA, progress reports 14
4 M9/28 FA, progress reports 15-16 Watch MIT students’ self-introduction (Padlet)
W9/30 Flowers for Algernon, progress reports 17
5 M 10/5 FA Movie discussion
https://buly.kr/E7B4uDd
Upload POSTECH students’ self-introduction (Padlet)
W10/7 Fahrenheit 451 Part I-1 (~p. 32.5)
6 M10/12 Fahrenheit 451 Part I-2 (p. 32.5~p.68) Group announcement
W10/14 Fahrenheit 451 Part II
7 M10/19 Fahrenheit 451 Part III
W10/21 F 451 Movie discussion
https://buly.kr/AwhRFY8
Upload Virtual Discussion 1
8 M10/26- Midterm exam period-no class
W10/28
9 M11/2 Pachinko Book I chs.1-4 T-shirt Design Contest
W11/4 Pachinko Book I chs.5-8 Design upload
10 M11/9 Pachinko Book I chs.9-12
W11/11 Pachinko Book I chs.13-17 Upload Virtual Discussion 2
11 M11/16 Pachinko Book II chs.1-4
W11/18 Pachinko Book II chs.5-8
12 M11/23 Pachinko Book II chs.9-12
W11/25 Pachinko Book II chs.13-16 Upload Virtual Discussion 3
13 M11/30 Pachinko Book II chs.17-20
W12/2 Pachinko Book III chs.1-4
14 M12/7 Pachinko Book III chs.5-8
W12/9 Pachinko Book III chs.9-12
15 M12/14 Pachinko Book III chs.13-16
W12/16 Pachinko Book III chs.17-21
16 M12/21-
W12/23 Final project with MIT students Upload Virtual Discussion 4 Due: 12/18

Collaboration with MIT students

Throughout the semester, you will collaborate with students enrolled in MIT Global Languages’ Korean courses ((https://languages.mit.edu/). These MIT students are Intermediate-level Korean learners with a strong interest in Korean culture.

Pairings will be either 1:1 or 1:2, depending on class sizes. You will meet six times for 30 minutes each via Zoom (https://www.zoom.us/). Each session must be divided evenly between Korean (15 minutes) and English (15 minutes).

Extending the meeting time or meeting more frequently than required is highly recommended—provided that all group members agree—and will earn extra credit. You are expected to record your meetings and upload the recordings to Padlet (https://padlet.com/).

POSTECH-MIT Cross-Cultural Discussion (CCD)

Students will select six topics from the list below in consultation with their POSTECH partners. You may discuss the same topic during both the Korean and English portions of a meeting or choose a different topic for each language. The subtopics below are suggestions to help you get the conversation started. You do not need to discuss all of them. Choose the ones that interest you and your partner, and feel free to let the conversation develop naturally.

1. Self-Introduction
• Where you are from and where you grew up
• Family and hometown
• Your personality and interests
• Why you chose your university
• Something interesting or unique about yourself

2. Major / Field of Study
• Your major and why you chose it
• Classes you are taking this semester
• Your favorite and most challenging classes
• Research or academic projects
• Differences between studying your field in Korea and the U.S.

3. Career and Future Plans
• Career goals after graduation
• Internships or work experience
• Study abroad or international experiences
• Graduate school plans
• Where you would like to live and work in the future

4. Hobbies and Leisure Activities
• What you do in your free time
• Sports, games, music, or other hobbies
• How you usually spend weekends
• Activities you would like to try
• Popular hobbies among college students in Korea and the U.S.

5. Campus Life
• A typical day at your university
• Dormitory and campus life
• Clubs and extracurricular activities
• Studying and managing your workload
• Social life and friendships
• Similarities and differences between MIT and POSTECH

6. Comparing Korean and American Cultures
• Food and dining culture
• Holidays and celebrations
• Dating and friendship
• Family relationships
• School and workplace culture
• Social etiquette and communication styles

7. Movies, TV Shows/Dramas, and Music
• A favorite movie, show, drama, or song
• Why you like it
• A Korean or American show/movie you would recommend
• Music that is popular among people your age
• Differences between Korean and American entertainment
• Something you think your partner should watch or listen to

8. Free Topic / Topic of Your Choice
• Technology and AI
• Travel
• Food
• Sports
• Social media
• Current trends
• College student life
• Any other topic that interests both partners

It is likely that some of the MIT students’ Korean skills are less fluent than POSTECH students’ English skills. Therefore, when they speak Korean, try to be polite, patient, and helpful. Think about when you were first learning English or another foreign language and what kind of help would have been beneficial for your improvement, and apply that to your MIT partner(s).
During your online meetings, maintain good manners while communicating with your international peers: you are a representative of the school and possibly the country to them. At the same time, try to have fun! This course offers rare opportunities to interact directly with American students and learn about each other’s cultures firsthand.
Final project: Travel Swap Project

1. Plan Two Trips
Imagine that you and your POSTECH partner(s) are traveling together. Work together to plan two trips:
• In English: a trip to any country in the world
• In Korean: a trip to Korea

2. Create Your Itineraries
Decide together where to go, what to see and do, what to eat, how to get around, and where to stay, and create trips that you would actually want to take together.

3. Prepare Your Travel Plans
🇰🇷 Trip to Korea
Day Morning Afternoon Evening
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Create an itinerary of at least four days for each trip.

🌏 Trip to ____________
Day Morning Afternoon Evening
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4









Include important information such as places, activities, food, transportation, and accommodations when relevant.

4. Share in Class
After completing the project with your MIT partner, upload both travel plans to Padlet.

T-shirt design contest

You will be asked to participate in a T-shirt design contest. You may work individually or with your MIT partner(s). When submitting your design, you must include two versions: one for the front and one for the back. The student or group that wins first prize will receive extra credit. T-shirts featuring the selected design will be provided to all students free of charge.

MIT certificate
You will receive a certificate from MIT if you participate in more than 70% of the collaboration with MIT students.

Directions for collaboration with MIT students
Once your MIT partner has been assigned, please contact him/her as soon as possible. Make sure to stay in touch by responding promptly to his/her emails. If your partner does not reply for an extended period, inform the TA or contact the MIT professor (Professor Jeong at jeongh@mit.edu) directly.
In your discussion with MIT students, please do not make comments that could be considered gender discrimination (성차별) and racial discrimination (인종차별) or comments about one’s appearance (외모 비하). Do not ask highly personal questions such as sexuality (성정체성), religion, income, marital status, and medical issues unless they initiate these topics themselves.
Be prepared for your discussions. Read materials on the topics to be discussed, if necessary, and prepare questions to ask beforehand. The primary purpose of joint discussions for POSTECH students is to learn more about things American. To do so, you will need to engage in discussions actively.
You will be required to meet six times via Zoom (https://www.zoom.us/), with each meeting lasting a minimum of 30 minutes. Each meeting must be divided evenly between Korean (15 minutes) and English (15 minutes). Each session must be recorded, and the recording must be uploaded to Padlet (https://padlet.com/) before the deadline. As mentioned previously, extending the meeting time or meeting more frequently than required is highly recommended—provided that all participants agree—and will earn extra credit.
2026 Korea-Boston Time Difference
KST compared with Boston EST and EDT
2026 Period Boston Zone KST vs. Boston Example: 9:00 a.m. in Boston
Jan. 1 to Mar. 8 clock change EST
(UTC-5) KST is 14 hours ahead 11:00 p.m. KST
Mar. 8 clock change to Nov. 1 clock change EDT
(UTC-4) KST is 13 hours ahead 10:00 p.m. KST
Nov. 1 clock change to Dec. 31 EST
(UTC-5) KST is 14 hours ahead 11:00 p.m. KST
Notes
KST: Korea Standard Time (UTC+9).
EST: Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5).
EDT: Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4).
2026 Boston clock changes: Mar. 8 at 2:00 a.m. (forward to 3:00 a.m. EDT); Nov. 1 at 2:00 a.m. (back to 1:00 a.m. EST).
UTC stands for Coordinated Universal Time.

Important Notice
MIT students have schedules much like those of POSTECH students—busy, demanding, and often sleep-deprived. To ensure smooth collaboration:
• Do not miss scheduled meetings. Rescheduling can be extremely difficult.
• If rescheduling is unavoidable, inform your partner as early as possible and communicate clearly.
Date Activity
Instruction & Link Due date
(KST)
W9/16 Self-introduction-POSTECH Go to POSETCH students’ self-introduction page and post your information in English. Your post should include a photo, your name, major, year in school, hobbies or interests, and a brief message for your MIT partner. Please keep your introduction concise.
(Padlet) https://zrr.kr/aXI9vH
9/19
Weekly schedule/preference survey submission -POSTECH Complete a weekly schedule and preference Google survey so that the TA can match you with a compatible MIT student.
(Google survey) https://forms.gle/bzL8bseNy3vM7gjy9
9/19
Th9/17 Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) survey-POSTECH (Google survey)
https://forms.gle/Chf825xgPfPtDbYV9
9/19
Weekly schedule/preference survey submission -MIT MIT students participate in a weekly schedule/preference google survey.
(Google survey) ?? 9/18 (EDT) for MIT students
M9/21 Self-introduction-MIT Go to MIT students’ self-introduction page and watch their posting and make comments in Korean, if you wish.
(Padlet) ??
9/20 (EDT) for MIT students
W9/23 Grouping announcement KAIST and MIT students will be notified of their group members. 9/23,
9/22 (EDT) for MIT students
M9/28 CCD1 Topic1
(Padlet) https://zrr.kr/AzH7EX
Recording upload
W9/30 10/3
M 10/5 CCD2 Topic2
(Padlet) https://zrr.kr/eVEALO
Recording upload
W10/7 10/10
M10/12 CCD3 Topic 3
(Padlet) https://zrr.kr/T7HaX3
Recording upload
W10/14 10/17
M10/19 T-shirt Design Contest Please upload two designs: one for the front and one for the back. You may work individually or with your MIT partner(s). The winning individual or team will receive extra credit.
(Padlet) https://zrr.kr/h5UY3i
Design upload 10/24
W10/21
M10/26 POSTECH-Midterm period (no class)
W10/28
S11/1 Daylight Saving Time ends in the U.S.
(at 2:00 AM, clocks will “fall back” one hour, moving from 2:00 AM to 1:00 AM)
M11/2 CCD4 Topic 4
(Padlet) https://zrr.kr/RRnU23
Recording upload
W11/4 11/7
M11/9 CCD5 Topic 5
(Padlet) https://zrr.kr/UGfQCQ
Recording
upload
11/14
W11/11
M11/16 CCD6 Topic 6
(Padlet) https://zrr.kr/m3DNx3
Recording upload
W11/18 11/21
M11/23
W11/25
M11/30 Co-project-Travel Swap Project Upload your travel plans & discussion video

(Padlet for itinerary)
https://zrr.kr/MkQ14o

(Padlet for video uploading)
https://zrr.kr/mDak5c
Recording
upload
W12/2 12/5

12/5 (EST) for MIT students
M12/7 MIT-Final exams
W12/9
M12/14 MIT-End of semester

M12/21 POSTECH-Final exams (no class), MIT-End of semester
W12/23

- 포스텍 재학생(영어학습자)-MIT 재학생(한국어학습자)간의 한국어-영어 상호교환을 통한 국제교류 수업
-A collaboration course with the Korean Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
-POSTECH-MIT Virtual Exchange Program