Happy Anniversary, Mason Korea!

Did you know that the Washington, D.C., area is home to the third largest Korean population among all metropolitan areas in the United States? Or that Fairfax County is home to the fifth largest Korean population among all U.S. counties? Indeed, George Mason University is in the heart of a region that more than 80,000 ethnic Koreans call home.

Mason is also the only higher education institution in Virginia that operates a campus in South Korea. Mason Korea reaches its 10th anniversary this year, and we are celebrating Mason Nation’s success across the Pacific Ocean and Korean culture here in Virginia. Not only do more than 100 Korean students travel from Songdo, South Korea, to Fairfax to take classes each semester, Mason offers the only Korean language undergraduate major in Virginia. The degree demonstrates Mason’s commitment to develop nonethnic Korean speakers so that they might succeed in their respective global careers.

This June 12 to 15, Mason Korea celebrates its first decade with a series of events that culminates with the campus’s eighth graduation ceremony. So far, more than 400 Mason alumni have graduated from Mason Korea. This graduation is the last for Mason Korea dean Robert Matz, who returns to Virginia this summer after serving for five years in Songdo.

“The great success of Mason Korea testifies to the Mason belief in diversity and connection to our global community,” says Matz. “Our students have not only proven to be bilingual and bicultural but also have shown the world that a diverse and inclusive environment met with grit and audacity is the key to success.”