On November 20, 2014, two NSLI-Y Korea students traveled with their Korean classmates to Busan to attend G-Star, South Korea's premier video game exhibition and one of growing importance in the video game world. Jonathan describes the trip:
“At our school, Seoul Digitech High School, most students study video game creation by choosing ‘tracks’ such as programming and 3D graphic design. Therefore, the trip was an exciting chance for my Korean classmates to experience some new and awaited games before they came out and to see and better understand the gaming industry, where many of them hope to have their careers. For me, it was a great opportunity to have fun trying out upcoming games, and most importantly, to spend time with and become closer to my classmates.
Upon arriving in Busan, we went immediately to the convention center where G-Star was held and headed inside to check out the exhibits. All the games had videos or staff there discussing their contents, and many had demos that we got to try out for ourselves. A lot even had prizes that guests could win or gave out souvenirs. In addition, a number of colleges had booths with information about their video game design programs, and developers looking to hire gave information on getting a job in the industry.
After several hours exploring the exhibition, we went to the youth hostel where we were staying for the night, had dinner, and went to our rooms. Before going to bed, we played some card games, hung out and talked, and ordered delivery fried chicken. When we woke up we had plenty of energy to eat breakfast and head back to G-Star for a few more hours of game sightseeing.
Getting to go to G-Star is something that I would never have expected to have the opportunity to do during my NSLI-Y experience, but I'm so lucky that I did. It turned out to be the most fun I've had so far with my classmates, and one of the most memorable things I've done since arriving here in Korea.”
-Jonathan, NSLI-Y Korea, Academic Year 2014-2015