Being awarded with the OWHC Young Travelling Scholarship can inspire and resonate in a long term: our 2025 scholar Ayushi Chaudhary from Philadelphia’s Temple University was awarded with a Research Grant to conduct faculty-mentored research on the cultural preservation of Kyoto as a UNESCO World Heritage city. Being in Japan for her studies, Ayushi managed to also visit UNESCO World Heritage in South Korea.

“My visit to Seoul felt like a natural extension of my OWHC Young Travelling Scholarship project, which looks at how World Heritage sites shape cultural identity and resilience in cities with complex histories and urban development. While I am based in Japan for a year-long study abroad experience, I traveled to Seoul to continue comparing heritage sites across East Asia. I am generally interested in East Asian affairs and how different countries preserve and experience their heritage in everyday life!”

If you wish to hear more about Ayushi’s trip to Seoul, please read her full article that she wrote for Global Philadlephia’s website