With over 30 members of the class of 2029 hailing from Korea, many new frosh spent the summer getting to know their future cohort through meetups and in person opportunities organized by the Stanford Korean Student Association, the Stanford Club of Korea or social media group chats. 

Cara Lee ’29, who attended the first meetup on July 31, said she was initially nervous to meet her peers. However, once she started talking to the other students at the restaurant, she felt a sense of community, she said.

“Nobody was hard to talk to,” Lee said. After finishing their meal at a Korean barbecue restaurant, they took photos at a photo booth and finished the day with ice cream.

There would grow to be more than ten meetups in Korea over the summer, with each one bringing the cohort of students closer. 

The freshmen also met with current Stanford students in Korea, who answered questions about life at Stanford. Through escape room puzzles and bowling trips, current Stanford students helped the rising freshmen feel more comfortable. 

For Chong Min ’29, meeting current students helped him “get a good grasp of what to expect,” including tips on time management and transitioning to college life.

The Stanford Korean Student Association also planned events for students in Korea to participate in before they arrived on campus, giving them an opportunity to meet more current Stanford students. Annually, the Stanford Club of Korea organizes its annual frosh send-off party, allowing incoming students to meet and connect with alumni. This year, alumni, professors and current students had a chance to greet the incoming freshmen and their families. The event also included a Q&A session with a panel of diverse current students and a photo booth where participants could try on Stanford merch.

“I am very glad that I was able to meet my future classmates and current students before actually stepping on campus,” Eric Cho ‘29 said,  “Although we will make new friends and meet even more people when school starts, I think it’s great that we have already begun bonding with one another.”