ICCE, Inc. (International Culture & Career Exchange)

"The first pictures were when our company had a yearly summer picnic party on a regular Friday. The purpose of this event was to improve internal communications among employees and just to have fun! We interns (three of us in the office) volunteered for the Picnic Planning Committee and we had meetings with the other employees and set decorations on the area. The party was held in Elysian Park and people brought their pets and had BBQ and Tacos (and some yogurt soju). I also ...learned DJing from other employee. The highlight of this event was our CEO dressed up as DJ Marshmello as a surprise and played music. It was such a fun experience! The other pictures were when we had a Halloween Costume Contest day at the office. I dressed up as a zombie school girl and there were so many funny and creative costumes. Even, some other team members wore their costumes and had a live on-camera meeting with the HQ in Korea and it was hilarious. I also helped painting some skulls on my team member's face and it was so fun! The other fun thing working at our company is that our company's building (The Onni Group Building) also hold several events sometimes and all companies in the buildings are free to participate! It was fun to see other people's costumes. Lastly, the funniest costume in our office was a person who dressed up as our CEO, and the best costume was our team leader, who had Mexican dead day makeup! It was one of the funniest event that I had in this company." - Dain, from South Korea, 1st place winner of our February Monthly Contest #ICCEUSA #ICCEContestWinners #RouteJ1

"In January, I went to Canyonland and Arches, both of them are National Parks. I went with 6 friends, we were 7 in total, so we rented a van. The trip took us 2 days. We started our journey from Park City to the Grand Canyon, in Arizona, known for the red rocks. We spent the whole day there, where we did several trekking. That night we spent the night in Flagstaff, where we rented an Airbnb. The next day we travel to Canyonland, known for its spectacular desert landscape with... great panoramic views, where you can see rock pinnacles, canyons and cave paintings of Native Americans. After spending the morning there, our next stop was Arches, this place is known for its geological formations, more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches. In the park we had lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon, and at night we started the trip back to Park City." - Milagros from Argentina, 2nd place winner of our January monthly contest #ICCEUSA #ICCEContestWinner #RouteJ1

"My host company, KYCC, held a all staff dinner party to celebrate the performance they did and reinvigorate employees. All employees gathered and enjoyed the party with sharing dinner together. Some of them also showed performance they prepared. Usually I don't dress up that formal because my office is not strict to the outfit. However, on that day, all the coworkers dressed up as fancy as we could. It was one of the special moments to feel like I'm in a team. The food was n...ice and the party was fun. After the dinner, Environmental Service, my unit moved to another round to drink and had fun. It was also a good opportunity to make bonds between team members. Holiday Carnival is one of the big carnivals of KYCC. I and employees prepared a lot of things; such as wrapping gifts, assigning volunteers, and registration of volunteers. I worked as a volunteer staff as well in the carnival. This is the photo of me and other staff members." -Sujin, Korea WEST Intern, and 1st Place Winner of our January Monthly Contest #ICCEUSA #RouteJ1 #ICCEContestWinner

Our Korea WEST Interns had the chance to volunteer at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank last week. WESTies joined local volunteers to sort, stack, and bag fruits and vegetables to distribute to homeless shelters and daycare programs around Los Angeles. Between WESties and local volunteers, over 30,000 pounds of food was packed and ready to distribute. After volunteering, we enjoyed some tacos and sunshine in a nearby park. #ICCEUSA #GoWEST #RouteJ1

Thank you again to our safety instructor, Stormy Bruckner, and Global Benefits Group for another successful Safety and Health Class for our new WESTies! Thank you also to Downtown LA Walking Tours and our lovely tour guide, Sabrina, for getting us moving and teaching us about LA's Beginnings! #ICCEUSA #GoWEST #RouteJ1

Thank you, Hyeran, for sharing your experiences with us, and congratulations on winning first place in our December monthly contest! Click through the photos to read about Hyeran's adventures in the US! #ICCEUSA #ICCEContestWinners #RouteJ1

"I have traveled a lot of places in the states, and it is very hard to pick one favorite place since they were all great. Let me briefly introduce and recommend some of the places I’ve been to. Among all cities, I visited New York, Chicago, Seattle and Las Vegas. They are so different from one another, and nothing like I’ve seen when I was in Korea. I strongly recommend people to go to Las Vegas if they want to have a special experience. I was able to watch wonderful shows, ...and I personally think that Ka Show was extremely memorable. One of the regret that I have is that I didn’t get a chance to experience more of national parks. This is because I liked very much of Yosemite National Park. The view was spectacular, The weather was great. As you can see from the photos I uploaded, that’s something you never see in other countries. Also, I liked the brands of the states. It might sound weird, but since I enjoyed my life in the states, and I think that’s due to all American brands. One of the example is Starbucks. There is Starbucks coffee in my country, but I had a bad impression of it back then. When I came here, Starbucks became one of my favorite brand, and so when I visited Seattle, which is the city where Starbucks started, I was excited to see the Starbucks Reserved Roastery and all the goods they sell. Overall, I loved all aspects of the states. This J-1 Program has been such a nice experience for me, and if I get another opportunity, I would love to apply for it again. Thank you!" - Hanseol, from Korea, December monthly contest winner #ICCEUSA #ICCEcontestWinner #RouteJ1

[Capital Trip] "I'm living in Kentucky. I took a trip to Washington on the weekend and saw the sights. Luckily, the Washington baseball team won the tournament, so there were no people in the tourist spot, so we could enjoy the sightseeing comfortably. I went to Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, the White House and Capitol. The White House couldn't enter because they didn't apply for the tour. Most of the sights are free, so you can have a pleasant trip at a low cos...t. After a year of internship in the US, I wanted to go to the US capital. This trip was really fun and worth the trip." Hyeon Jun, from South Korea, 3rd Place, November Monthly Contest Winner! #ICCEUSA #ICCEcontestWinner #RouteJ1

[Halloween] I dressed up as Belle on Halloween. My company held Halloween Costume Contest on Halloween and I participated it. I dressed up as Belle and took a picture for contest. Unfortunately, I didn't win, but I took a picture with my fellow and had a fun time.... Also I participated in NYC Village Halloween Parade after work. There I saw a lot of amazing costumed people such as spider man, wonder woman, god. I was surprised by American's passion for Halloween. It was my first real Halloween and I can't forget that moments! [Boston] I went to Boston with my friend. I heard that Boston is a famous city for seafood so we ate a lot of seafood such as lobster, clam chowder. Also we went to Harvard University and MIT. Before starting looking around, we bought a Harvard hoodie and changed. We took a lot of photos as if we were a Harvard student. Boston was my first travel in USA and I love my friend who was with me. I was really excited. It was so fun and memorable time. Ji Hye, from South Korea, 2nd Place, November Monthly Contest Winner! #ICCEUSA #ICCEcontestWinner #RouteJ1

When I visited to US Space & Rocket Center (below called Rocket center), I and my intern friend visited here on the weekend. My friend Victor already visited here last time. So he introduced the center and I follow up his instruction. First at the ticket office, clerk recommend me to see Planet Tarium show and Victor also recommended it. So I buy the ticket with him. We left 1 and half hour until the show. We follow the way of the arrow mark on the floor, we can enter the ...America’s space center history room. They exhibited their spacesuits and small size models of spacecraft with TV on the Braun tube TV. Story was interesting but we already learned about the history of America & Soviet Union at the high school so we just make focus on the exhibition. And we can play the VR experience that we can be an astronaut. We paid 10 or 15 dollars each person. I’m not sure about the cost. I think this payment is little bit expensive but if it was first time in there, I want to recommend it to the next intern. After touring the first exhibition building, we have to go and see the Planet Tarium show. When we get into the theater, I really surprised about this theater room. Whole the roof is covered by the one big circle screen and after they start the show, I couldn’t get out of the screen. We were attracted to the show and MC’s storytelling during 40 minutes. This show was worth than I paid. If someone didn’t see this show, then they will always regret having not seen the show. After the show, we went to the second exhibition building. When I got there, spacecraft models made me surprised. I was shocked by the scale first and their meticulous expression. The full size of the spacecraft overwhelm me. We stayed there during 1 hour in here. When we went outside, there were helicopter, Nasa Lunar Model and rides. We enjoyed rides and ate out to the steak house. If someone visited Huntsville, I really want to recommend to visit US SPACE & ROCKET CENTER. Mun Seok, from South Korea, 1st Place, November Monthly Contest Winner! #ICCEUSA #ICCEcontestWinner #RouteJ1

Why should your organization host an international intern/trainee? Check out this great article!

[LACMA Again] All the Westies went to LACMA together! We spread a mat on the grass and drank wine. We had a wonderful time there. The free jazz concert was amazing and people seemed like really enjoying a leisurely summer night. And the most great thing was sunset! A flaming sunset with palm trees was a real fine view. [Family Time] My family came here to see me in US! Usually, they are too busy to get this long vacation, but they could come here because there was a big holi...day called Chuseok in Korea. We traveled around LA, San Diego, Las Vegas and Grand Canyon. I was so happy to met them, but I was really sad when they went back to Korea. It was precious time for us. The picture was taken at La Jolla Cove, San Diego. My parents and sister were so surprised at there because we can't see that many seals in our country. I felt that I'm lucky to be with my family and I'm very thankful to them. The Grand Canyon is one of the natural wonders of the world. And seeing the Grand Canyon was one of my "bucket lists". So I was looking forward to it. And my first impression was that it is literally "Grand" Canyon. And the view I saw on the air plane was unbelievable. It was also my first time to go Griffth Observatory. The scenery and sunset were amazing. It was exactly same with the movie "LALA LAND". Moreover, I was so happy to be with my family. [Conan Show] I went to watch the Conan Show. Conan was unrealistic and more handsome than he appears on screen. [Home Party] Christian was a staff of POLY. He quit his job, but he is still our friend. He invited us to his home and we had a great time with his family and friends. We did beer pong game and he taught us some other games. It was really fun! Joon Hee, from South Korea, 1st Place, October Monthly Contest Winner! #ICCEUSA #ICCEcontestWinner #RouteJ1

[Ellen Show] "In October, I got a ticket for the Ellen Show because my friend applied and got 4 tickets! If you sign up for '1iota' website, you can apply for many shows in the USA for free. The Ellen Show is one of the most famous shows in the USA. It is also famous in Korea. Because some stunning Korean celebrities have appeared at the show. Such as BTS, Super M and of course many Hollywood stars who are loved by many Koreans. But it was a standby ticket which was not con...Continue reading