Moving Forward - Heart, Body and Seoul
Forensic Science student returns home to South Korea for incredible two-week placement
With a population just shy of 10 million, the capital of South Korea can be equal parts, intimidating and overwhelming but for Hyangmin Nam, time spent in Seoul this past summer was very comfortable and everything she hoped it would be.
A fourth-year Forensic Science student and a native of Busan, South Korea, Ms. Nam completed a two-week placement with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, tagging along on crime scene investigations.
“I learned about the whole criminal investigative process from start to finish and about different scene investigation processes according to the type of crime committed,” says Ms. Nam.
“Not everything happens as we expect it to in investigations. Sometimes details that seem strange or out of place could be key in solving the case.”
The logistics involved with returning home for the invaluable experience of working side-by-side with crime scene investigators were “challenging” but Ms. Nam says the rewards were huge.
“I learned how the field of forensic science is applied differently in another country…which areas are more developed and focused on,” she explains, describing the overall experience as “amazing.”
Arriving in Canada five years ago as an English as a Second Language (ESL) student, Ms. Nam first learned about Trent at a school fair. With no South Korean schools offering forensic science as an undergraduate program, she was intrigued.
“The small class size was an aspect of Trent that really appealed to me,” says Ms. Nam.
“The Forensic Science program has allowed me to gain hands-on experience like collecting evidence at mock crime scenes or analyzing evidence in the lab. All the professors have worked, or are working, in Forensic Science. I’ve been exposed to many different types of jobs in the field, some of which I had never even considered.”