Alyssandra (Sem 1, 2023)

My Exchange at Yonsei University

One of the reasons why I chose to study at The University of Auckland is because I knew that the 360 International Exchange Programme had an extensive network of partner universities that would offer exchange opportunities to countries all over the world. I have wanted to go on an international student exchange to South Korea for quite a few years. I have been interested in the history and culture of the country for a long time and I have a couple friends in South Korea that I have wanted to visit as well.

During my first few days in Seoul, I took quite a while to adjust to the frigid winter weather. I had never experienced a winter like that in NZ before! I definitely noticed the differences between South Korea and New Zealand straight away. The hustle and bustle of Seoul is definitely way more intense than anything in Auckland. There are just so many people everywhere all at once that it felt very easy to get lost in the crowds when I first arrived. It also took me a while to get used to walking on the right side of the sidewalk and escalators!

When I first walked into the main gates of Yonsei University, it was exactly how I had imagined it from the photos. Yonsei University is famous for its beautiful campus and even in winter when I first walked the grounds, the scenery and tall concrete buildings were amazing to finally see in person. On the orientation day, I loved witnessing the school spirit and the dance performances were very cool to see as well.

I am a conjoint student at UoA but I chose to only study Science courses while on exchange. I took mostly international exchange courses which included a Korean language course. I highly recommend anyone exchanging to South Korea to take a Korean language course if you don’t know much Korean before going. Even though I am not able to credit back my Korean course to my degree, I’m so glad that I took the class as I learnt a lot of Korean that really helped me in my daily life. The rest of my international exchange courses were all very interesting and quite well taught in my opinion. The class sizes for my courses were quite a lot smaller than I’m used to so all of my lecturers were very approachable and would try to give us extra credit assignments wherever they could. They were very understanding of the fact that we were exchange students and a couple of my lecturers gave us a lot of helpful tips for daily life in Seoul. Yonsei University takes attendance very seriously and you automatically fail a course if you miss ⅓ of your classes even if you score very well on course work. This was quite a big adjustment for me because I was so used to taking online zoom classes. However, the fact that they take attendance so seriously meant that a lot of my courses would include attendance as part of your coursework so it would be very easy to earn 10-20% by just attending class.

I stayed in SK Global House which is one of the two on campus international dormitories available to female international exchange students. I was extremely lucky to be able to get a single dorm room in SK Global House as it is generally considered to be the ‘better’ dormitory since it is newer. I have never stayed in a dormitory before, so this was a very new experience for me. I don’t have any other dormitory to compare my experience to but I thought it was a pretty good quality accommodation. In my single room, I had my own bathroom and mini fridge. In the shared common space on my floor, there was a sink, rubbish bin, and water cooler as well as couches and tables for people to eat at or just hang out. On the shared basement floors, we had access to a gym, kitchen, and laundry rooms. The facilities were in quite good condition and kept relatively clean.

Q&A

What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?

Yonsei University has such a strong school spirit and pride. The highlights of my time at Yonsei University are honestly being able to meet so many people from different backgrounds. The university wide events such as the cheering event and the university festival were so much fun to participate in. By living on campus, I feel like I really got to experience the authentic Korean student life while at Yonsei. There are 2 other universities very close to Yonsei University so the area around the university is a very student town. I loved the fact that there was so much to do near campus and so many places to visit like arcades, clothes shops, restaurants, cafes etc. There were so many 24 hour cafes or late night cafes that would stay open where my friends and I would study all the time. I really enjoyed this aspect of studying at Yonsei University because cafe study is known to be a really big part of student culture in South Korea.

I actively joined international student clubs and participated in their events where I got to meet a lot of new people and experience parts of the student culture in Seoul that I otherwise would not have been able to. My favourite event that I joined up to was the Yonsei Global club’s Membership Training event where I got the opportunity to stay at a traditional Korean style Hanok house and meet so many new people over Korean barbecue!

Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?

If you’re going in the Spring Semester like I did, I definitely recommend doing the following activities that are quite unique to South Korea and Yonsei University:

● Getting the opportunity to take a tour around the Demilitarized Zone between South Korea and North Korea is definitely one of the biggest highlights of my trip and one of my favourite activities that I got to experience while on exchange. I definitely recommend booking an English tour as you can learn so much more about the history of the area.

● University festivals!! Unfortunately, exchange students weren’t able to attend Yonsei University’s festival called AKARAKA, but a lot of other university festivals are free to go to and are pretty amazing to experience even if you aren’t familiar with any of the artists.

● Outdoor inflatable water parks are an extremely popular activity to do during the hot summer months towards the end of the semester!

● Jimjilbangs are a combination between saunas and spas that provide a relaxing getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city.

● Visiting the palaces dressed in traditional hanbok is an amazing cultural experience and photo opportunity.

● Taking photos with cherry blossoms in full bloom during the spring months!

● Going to a K-pop concert or even a non-K-pop concert because the Korean concert experience is a lot different to New Zealand.

What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?

1. Try to learn at least a little bit of Korean before you go. Even just learning how to read Hangul which is the Korean alphabet, will help you so much with daily life and navigating around Seoul. Even though they speak quite a lot of English in South Korea and translator apps like Papago are super helpful, you will save a lot of time and miscommunication if you can understand and speak some basic Korean phrases.

2. Be prepared to experience all 4 seasons even if you are only going on exchange for one semester like I did. The weather in Seoul is pretty extreme compared to the moderate temperatures that we experience in New Zealand. In the cold and dry months, I bought hand warmers and touch screen gloves so you can still use your phone while keeping your fingers warm! In the hot and rainy months, I always carry an umbrella and a light rain jacket as well as a portable electronic fan.

3. Join the international student clubs at Yonsei University during orientation week and try to go to as many events as you can! They’re such a great opportunity to meet new people and experience parts of Korean culture that you might not otherwise get the chance to experience by yourself.

How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?

I did not stick to a very strict budget while on exchange because I had been saving for many years and was fortunate enough to receive a few scholarships including the Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia. However, I tried not to exceed around $2,000 NZD a month. Seoul is a relatively cheap place to live compared to New Zealand. I know a lot of people that ate at the school cafeteria, convenience stores, cafes, and restaurants every single meal and the cost of living was a lot cheaper than if you would eat out for every meal in New Zealand. Despite this, I cooked most of my meals because I have a lot of dietary requirements, so I was able to save a little more money and spend it on activities and shopping instead. Seoul is a very cashless society for the most part except when it comes to markets. I would always keep a little bit of cash on me just in case. It is very difficult to open a bank account in South Korea, so I definitely recommend applying for a Wise card before you go. I used it like a normal credit card and was never charged for surcharges like overseas credit cards are.

What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?

One of my most significant takeaways from my experience abroad studying in South Korea was learning how to be more independent and self-reliant. This semester abroad to study in Seoul was the first time I had travelled overseas and lived by myself. I gained a greater confidence in my ability to adapt to new environments through making more decisions for myself and dealing with life challenges such as my severe allergies overseas by myself. I am now much more open to trying new experiences even if they may seem scary at first.

By comparing the differences between living in Seoul and Auckland, I gained a deeper understanding of South Korean culture and a greater appreciation of my own unique culture as a 4th generation Chinese Kiwi. I really enjoyed learning about the history of Korea in my Modern Korean History exchange class. Through this class, I was able to thoroughly explore how specific ideologies have informed major debates and collective activities that have made the country progress. I was extremely interested to learn about major historical events that have severely impacted modern Korean culture today such as the annexation of Korea by the Japanese empire and the Korean War. It really made me view modern Korean culture in a different perspective and helped me to gain a deeper understanding of how the country has become one of the fastest growing major economies in the world.

Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?

I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Busan twice while on exchange which is the second largest city in South Korea and on the opposite side of Seoul. The top tourist hotspots in Busan are very centred around nature as it is right along the coast. If you are getting a bit homesick and miss the nature and beaches from New Zealand, I totally recommend visiting Busan or one of the other coastal cities in the country. Even though it still is a very big city like Seoul, it still has a lot of nature and has a more relaxed atmosphere. It was so cool to experience the stark contrast of big city buildings bordering beaches and seeing how differently some traditional Korean food is prepared compared to Seoul.

I was also able to travel to Gyeongju which is another city near Busan that is very well known for its historical sites. I really enjoyed travelling around Gyeongju because it was very different from Seoul, and I was able to explore more of the cultural and historical aspects of South Korea that are a bit more hidden when you only stay in Seoul. I would totally recommend visiting another nearby country if it’s feasible for you. So many of my friends travelled to nearby countries in Asia. It’s so different to travelling from New Zealand because we are so far away from a lot of countries. Being in South Korea makes it so much easier and cheaper to visit other countries.