Sue's Exchange to Konkuk University | South Korea
Hi my name is Sue and in semester 1 2019 I went on exchange to Konkuk University, Korea. At Murdoch I am studying a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.
For me choosing my Exchange University came down to three simple things:
- Family
- Location
- Culture
A little about my Exchange University, the classes I took and the teaching system ...
Whilst I was at Konkuk I took four classes:
- English Conversation
- English for Specific Purposes: Business English
- English Communication
- Analysis on Visual Contents
The overall class experience reminded me of when I was back in high school. They had no lecturer times - like we have here at Murdoch - it was all tutorial based settings. some classes were twice a week where others were once a week. They usually lasted about an hour to an hour and a half.
A little about the city you I lived in, Seoul ...
Seoul (South Korea) was very populated. It
didn’t really matter what time of the day it was, there was always people
walking, riding a bike or driving in their cars.
The public transport is very technological
and everything is translated in English. I want to say it was simple and easy
(and it is with practice and time) but I will admit there were times when we
would accidentally get on the wrong train or take the wrong bus. But nothing
major that a simple taxi ride can’t fix (sometimes taking a taxi is cheaper
than going by bus/train).
My friends and I would ALWAYS go to this
restraint called OutDark. It is about 5-10 minutes walk from campus and its
specialty is fried chicken. I can honestly say, it is the BEST chicken I’ve had
my whole life (sorry mum.)
Locals are very quiet. They keep to
themselves. But if you ever get lost and ask for directions (which has happen
to us many times before), they were very nice and would tell us how to get
there.
The best parts of my Exchange experience were ...
The best part for me would have been… when
the semester was over, a couple of friends and I went on an eight day travel
around Korea. Although we clashed heads many times through the days, I wouldn’t
have done anything different. The only wish I had was to have more time.
Was there anything you struggled
with while on your Exchange? Did you get homesick? Did you experience culture
shock? How did you deal with these challenges?
Being Korean myself and having been to
Korea previously before for small holidays and seeing family, I had a small
understanding as to what I was getting myself into. So I didn’t experience any
culture shock and I think I adapted into the culture and the change in
education systems pretty quickly. The thing that surprised me the most was
getting home sick.
I was so ready to leave Australia and accept the
challenges of living in a different country. I was so surprised that I got
homesick halfway through the semester.
I dealt with it by talking to friends back
home a lot and the feeling would go away. It would eventually come back but it
was okay, because I knew I would be coming back home eventually. It was just a
matter of patience.
A little about where I lived on Exchange ...
While
on exchange I was lucky to live with my cousins who lived 30 minutes (walk)
away from campus. It was a nice apartment space with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms,
living room and kitchen.
They were family and it was nice and simple
to live with them, but things got a little… odd (for lack of better word) and
towards the end of the semester I felt very awkward living with them.
So if I were to give down advice to future
exchange students… I would advise them to live in the campus dorms or try and
get your own place (if it is possible) because when I was living with my
cousins, I felt the need for privacy and I had a curfew when I was staying with
them when I wanted to stay out late.
What advice would you give someone
who is considering / about to embark on Exchange?
Although it may be exhausting, but
try and fill up each day to its fullest. Otherwise you’re left wondering,
wanting and regretting not doing more things and wishing there was more time.
If you go to Korea I 100% recommend going to OutDark - the fried chicken is SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOD!
- Sue studied abroad at Konkuk University in Korea.
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