Above: a monument on the campus at Yonsei University.
Around the first week of July, Ryan Mudge and I travelled to Seoul, South Korea, to represent Accordance at the International Society of Biblical Literature meetings. The ISBL meetings were held on the campus of Yonsei University, which is where we also took our lodgings in one of the university guest houses. The university campus was beautiful, vast, and the terrain was anything but flat. In fact, Ryan and I regularly joked that just going back and forth between the ISBL meetings and our guest house across campus was a journey that was truly uphill both ways.
Above: A small glimpse at the beautiful Yonsei University campus in Seoul
In addition to our setup in the exhibit hall, we also gave two presentations during ISBL. The first of these presentations was absolutely packed with standing room only for the attendees who were either Accordance users or curious potential users who had come to check us out. After the first presentation, an ISBL attendee came by our exhibit table with an envelope of cash. He told us that he had come to the conference with the primary purpose of purchasing books to take back for use in both his studies and his church ministry. However, after listening to our presentation, he decided that purchasing an Accordance Collection would be a much better investment than print books. Plus, he wouldn’t have to pay to ship his books back home!
Above: one of our two presentations at the ISBL meetings in Seoul
Dr. Steven Chang of Torch Trinity Graduate University invited us to lead an all-day Accordance Training Seminar at their school for any students, faculty or clergy in the area who were already Accordance users or might be interested in the software. After the conference, Ryan and I went with Dr. Chang, some of his students, and another faculty member to a Korean BBQ restaurant where we cooked our food right on our table.
Above: All-Day Accordance Training Seminar at Torch Trinity University in Seoul
Enjoying Korean BBQ with new friends after our Torch Trinity presentation
Ryan and I had one free day in Seoul to take in some of the history and culture. We visited the Gyeongbokgung Palace grounds and the National Folk Museum of Korea among other interesting local attractions detailing the history of the Korean nation and people. We regretted having to say goodbye to Korea, but we had more appointments ahead of us in Japan. Look for our adventures there a few days from now in an upcoming blog post.
Above: Entrance to the Gyeongbokgung Palace grounds in Seoul, South Korea
Here are some of the other “Accordance in Asia 2016” posts: