Yukon College Hosts Koreans and Japanese

Whitehorse – For the third consecutive year, nine students will arrive from an elite Japanese university to learn ESL and outdoor survival skills in Yukon. Waseda University, located in Tokyo, Japan, enrolls over 54,000 students each year.  Each year students are offered the opportunity to travel to the Yukon to take part in a seven day back-country hike. It’s not a program for the faint of heart.

Waseda students nervously sign up for the opportunity to learn leadership, communications and outdoor skills through hiking in the Yukon wilderness. Students enroll expecting a demanding program that will provide them with a deep, personal challenge.

The hike is conducted by NOLS Yukon – the National Outdoor  Leadership School. The school is known for instilling a strong environmental stewardship ethic in its graduates. They return home to contemplate their contribution to global degradation, and ways in which they could instill change. In addition to feeling environmental responsibility, graduates generally are empowered, awed by the Yukon, and able to tackle personal and educational challenges anew.

Waseda University students will be in Whitehorse for sixteen days between August 3 and 18.  They will study ESL at the College for three days before starting the back country hiking course.  (Students are available on July 16 and part of the 17th for interviews.)

Yukon College will also be hosting a group of 10 Korean students for four weeks, all boarding with Yukon families. For the past three years, Korea University of Technology has sent a group of students for ESL training. The students are warmly embraced by the host families, who ensure the Koreans leave the Yukon having seen the sights, understanding something about life in Canada, and most importantly, feeling passion for Yukon.