Shinsegae Group announced on the 7th that it will provide 30 college students with an opportunity to visit Greece as part of its humanities social contribution program 'Shinsegae Knowledge Feast' and hold monthly humanities lectures from next month until February next year.
Knowledge Feast is a humanities dissemination program by Shinsegae aimed at college students, which started in 2014 and has produced 298 humanities talents. Shinsegae provides overseas exploration opportunities to 20 to 30 college students each year and fosters continuous exchange.
Chung Yong-jin, chairman of Shinsegae Group, attended the first Knowledge Feast in 2014 and noted, "Shinsegae pursues creating a happy lifestyle for our customers," adding, "I believe that spreading humanities is a path of practice to give back to society and the youth in some way."
This year, it will be held under the theme 'A journey to gain insights for the future, Grand Tour.' The Grand Tour was a travel-based learning trend among young intellectuals in Europe during the 17th to 19th centuries. Thirty college students selected through a competition and interviews visited the Greek Orthodox Daphne Monastery, the Acropolis and the Parthenon in Athens, and the Marathon plain last month with explorer Song Dong-hoon.
Until February next year, monthly lectures will be held for 50 applicants, inviting humanities scholars. In December, a 'Knowledge Feast Homecoming Day' will be held, inviting all participants from past overseas explorations, where students who participated this year will have a chance to share their experiences and reflections with previous cohorts.
Knowledge Feast has been translating and publishing high-quality global humanities books that are not published or well-known in Korea. It has introduced the public to works like Goethe's 'Italian Journey' (2016), Boris Johnson's 'The Churchill Factor' (2018), Donald Kagan's 'Pericles' (2020), Andrew Roberts' 'Napoleon' (2022), and Niall Ferguson's 'Virtual History' (2024).
A representative from Shinsegae Group stated, "Knowledge Feast is a space for the youth to question and reflect on their own, beyond just delivering knowledge unilaterally," and added, "We will continue to support so that more young people can have humanities insights and contribute to society through Knowledge Feast in the future."