My Exchange at Sung Kyun Kwan University
I had previously done a virtual exchange via the 360 International exchange programme. I discovered the opportunity through university student letters.
My first impression when I arrived at my host university was that I was overwhelmed and perhaps overstimulated. The lights on the streets and the stores on the streets of Seoul were almost 24/7 and it was incredibly busy and fast-paced relative to New Zealand.
I was staying at the university dormitories, and I was very lucky with my roommates as they were from a variety of different countries yet we all got along very well. They became my second family and we took care of each other when we were sick, or going through difficult times. We also had so much fun together, we had a list of things we wanted to do in Seoul and we managed to (almost fully) complete it. The accommodation itself was nice, we had security most of the time and felt safe. The curfews during the weekdays however were not too great.
The orientation was short and sweet and was a nice introduction to university life. The welcome party was very fun, they put a lot of effort into making sure the exchange students had a good welcome into the semester.
The courses taught at the host university were not what I expected – I had expected a high level of workload given the prestige of the host university. However given that the courses I had taken were taught in English, the consensus was that the professors tended to grade a little easier for those courses. The attendance making up a percentage of the overall grade was also very interesting. Some of the courses were based on how much you can recall a theory rather than how well you can apply that theory to a case study. It was also interesting that many of the courses had multichoice questions as exam formats.
The city of Seoul is again a bustling city. It has many 24/7 shops and the city is so densely populated that wherever you go there will be a lot of people. The food and shopping were amazing, and many people especially the younger generation know how to speak English so you could somehow get by without speaking fluent Korean. The cities outside of Seoul were a little more nature-based, I had taken a few trips outside to Busan, Daegu, and Gyeongju where either mountains or the sea were surrounding the city. However, all over Korea, I had found the mix and match of cultural sites and the busy city, as my university was right next to many traditional palaces and historical sites. Korea has many UNESCO heritage sites that they have managed to preserve whilst advancing incredibly fast in their industrial and technological developments. The contrast is so visible in your daily life (literally bus rides would consist of going past futuristic-looking buildings and traditional historical palaces). It was incredibly interesting. The nightlife in Seoul is very big amongst the young people as well.
Interestingly, the prices for groceries were insane, but eating out at restaurants or takeaways was so readily available and much more affordable. I almost always ate out or had gotten takeaways.
Food was incredible everywhere we went. There were a huge variety of dishes to choose from wherever I went. The main complaint many of us had was how sweet everything was, which was surprising given Korea is known for having spicy food. Everything seems to have extra sugar in them, from their bread to their traditional meals. My vegan roommate also struggled to find vegan or vegetarian options too.
A highlight of my exchange was meeting so many people from so many different countries and sharing cultures between ourselves. The expectation of my exchange semester in South Korea involved making heaps of Korean friends and learning only about Korean culture. I had never expected to learn so much about the cultures and languages of other countries, and what was especially interesting was how much I learned about New Zealand. Whilst sharing information on each others’ cultures, you get to learn that what Kiwis think is normal is indeed not default for other countries as well. I had learned that the use of words such as “reckon”, “heaps” and “keen” were indeed very much a “down under” thing and that other regions of the world may not necessarily have these in their vocabulary, even if their main language is English. As such, broadening my worldview was one of the highlights of my exchange.
Further, as a Korean living in New Zealand, another highlight of my exchange was getting to know my own Korean culture and language better. I had not realised how much I lacked in knowledge regarding these, and I had the chance to learn more about my heritage. This was an exceptionally valuable experience for people like me, and what made it more special was that I had a Korean-Brazilian as one of my roommates who also went through a similar experience. There were incredible moments of introspection as a Korean-Kiwi.
Challenges to my exchange were missing the nature of New Zealand. Seoul is a very densely populated city with a very advanced metropolitan area, the air quality was quite bad and it was difficult to get to a field of grass. I missed the fresh air readily available back home.
A piece of practical advice would be to be prepared to be sick. The food, the water, and the air will be different from what you are used to so your immune system will not be as well equipped to fight off germs. I had covid once during my semester and that was not a pleasant experience. It would be important to take care of yourself, eat properly, and exercise. Many exchange students felt especially homesick when they caught a cold or stomach flu.
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
The courses where the professor valued engagement and real-life application had a high level of student engagement and real-life business collaborations. One of my marketing courses had guest lecturers from Google, which gave us real-life insight into the operation of the theories we were learning.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
My recommendation for activities specific to my host university is to go to all the university festivals. SKKU has two campuses, one in Suwon and one in Seoul, which means they run the festivals on separate days for both campuses. I went to all four days of the festivals (each campus had a two-day long festival) and it was honestly one of the best experiences of my entire semester. You get to see different artists every night and get to see SKKU’s student body in one place. It gave all of us an intense feeling of belonging as a part of the host university student body.
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
A piece of advice specific for those planning to go on an exchange to South Korea is to pack lightly and shop for essentials and other things in your host country – South Korea has so many spots where you can easily get things for your dorm or other essentials in life. Many of my friends struggled whilst packing for their flights at the end of the semester because they had bought so many things.
Whilst many places do transactions with card, many shops especially the street vendors prefer you to pay in cash, and sometimes they offer you a slightly lower price if you pay in cash. Be prepared to carry a lot of cash.
Also, join as many activities as you can to make friends. Most exchange students are just as nervous about making friends as any other, joining different activities and groups was very helpful for me making friends. Say yes to a dinner invite or a hangout always – you become an extrovert whilst on the exchange even if you were not back home. This makes the whole experience much richer.
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 had budgeted (outside accommodation and flight) around 7000 NZD, and on top of that I was getting weekly allowance and living costs of around 300 NZD. I would say this was more than enough, I was eating out every day and enjoyed the nightlife, had many shopping sprees and went to cafes every day as cafes are a big thing in South Korea.
However, I would say to have a buffer for unexpected things such as having to go to the hospital or having to replace pricey things like your laptop, as some of these things did happen to my friends and they were unexpected expenses.
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
One of the most significant takeaways is that while the world is very big, everyone seems to be living sort of similarly. I mean this in a way that people are the same. I was pleasantly surprised to find out my German and Singaporean roommates all watched H2O the children’s TV show, as well as Kim Possible and other shows. We had many commonalities beyond this, such as childhood memories and how we interact with our parents etc. I have learned that people from different countries are not so different from I am, and we had just as many things in common as differences.
Tags: 2023, Marketing/Management, Report