As I write this BLOG I'm sitting in Busan, South Korea's international airport on my way to Shanghai, China. Surrounded by mountains and near the water, Busan is a beautiful city along Korea's east coast. I represented George Mason University and the School of Public Policy at the AIEF fair on April 1st and, although a smaller venue than Seoul, was able to talk to prospective applicants extremely interested in studying in the United States.

Many people were pleased to find that not only is our campus near Washington, D.C. but we are also metro-accessible. Both Seoul and Busan have extensive metro-systems and this became an important point in all of my discussions with the people of Korea as many use public transportation on a daily basis to get around their respective cities.

As I conclude my travels here I'm happy to report that I've felt very welcomed by everyone I've met, from the university officials at Yonsei and Seoul National Universities to the prospective applicants both in Seoul and in Busan. It has been a pleasure to visit this country and I hope to stay in touch with each and every person I've had the good fortune to meet.

I will be writing again soon as I begin my travels in China.

Tennille Haegele
Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions