Internship at APL Korea

JohannaUpgang-Sicking

Internationaland Area Studies Major

Studying at the GSIS does not mean to only sit at a desk memorizing theories and numbers, it means broadening your horizon and getting experienced in many aspects of life in Korea, outside university, too. A field trip to the Pusan Newport last semester for example impressed me so much that I decided to do an internship in logistics. This was made possible this semester, supported by the kind help of the GSIS. It was not my first internship and I honestly wondered if I would end up just arranging files, copying or answering phone calls. Therefore, taking the morning subway on the first day of the internship looking into the tired faces of office workers and students, I felt relieved that at least my friend was not just tired, but, like me, a bit nervous, too. And on the second last day of our internship we all fell “슬프다“ when thinking of our last day at work. What happened in between? Neither nervous nor sad, but with smiling and curious faces we experienced a very well balanced internship: Presentations and discussion in the meeting room, 1:1 training by different department’s managers and detailed insight into their everyday work as well as guided tours through a vessel, terminal and warehouse. APL’s staff was always friendly and open to all kinds of questions we had, enriching us with theoretical as well as practical knowledge and experience. Tomorrow, on our last day, we will leave the APLKorea branch office with our heads filled with logistic operation knowledge,insights into one of the biggest shipping companies worldwide, and filled with memoriesof a good time.   ?