Taylor's Exchange to Konkuk University | Korea
Hi my name is Taylor and in semester 1 2019 I went on exchange to Konkuk University in South Korea. At Murdoch I am studying Laboratory Medicine and Genetics & Molecular Biology.
The key factors in me choosing Konkuk University were ...
The key factors for me were, I wanted to go
somewhere I had never been before; I wanted to go somewhere that was offering
units focused towards what I was studying; and I wanted to go somewhere that
didn’t speak English as its native language.
A little about Konkuk University, the classes and the teaching system ...
Konkuk University was such an amazing host
university for me! Konkuk was smaller than Murdoch, so memorizing the layout of
campus happened quickly. All the staff and students I spoke to were very
friendly and helpful. Additionally, the location for students was awesome! It
had cheap food places right outside campus for students on a budget; it had a
more business/recreational area within walking distance; and it was right on a
train line that circulated a good portion of Seoul.
The classes I took at Konkuk were Genetic
Engineering and Experiment; Molecular Medical Science; Korean Elementary;
Korean Culture; and Korean History for Foreign Students. All the teachers that
taught my classes were very kind and accommodating, especially so in the more
science-orientated classes I did. I was the only international student in those
classes, so a lot of discourse did happen in Korean, but my lab partners and
teachers were always checking in with me in English, and encouraged me to ask
questions.
Classes were a little different from
Murdoch. I didn’t sit in a single lecture theatre for any class, all of them
took place in a classroom-like setting. But content-wise, it was taught
similarly to Murdoch, with lecture slides and midsemester and final exams.
Attendance was taken at every lecture however! Using an online registration
system, which was a surprise for me considering I haven’t had compulsory
lectures in Murdoch since Day One. My units all ranged from having 1 – 3
contact hours a week, but my science units on top of that also had 3 hour lab
sessions.
A little about the city I lived in, Seoul ...
Seoul was a very busy and small city, but
it felt like it was always filled with surprises (if you knew where to look, or
better yet, if you got some insider knowledge). Even leading up to my last days
in the city, I was discovering more places or new things to see. Getting around
was super easy! The train lines were very easy to interpret and even easier to
ride as the Korean SmartRider equivalent, T-Money Cards, were available to buy
at any convenience store, and could be topped up at numerous locations around
the city.
I was torn between two places that were my
favourite to eat at. The first was a 냉면(naengmyeon) place near Konkuk university, which was introduced to
me by one of Konkuk’s International Student Volunteers, Yumi (also goes by,
Olivia), who actually took Murdoch representatives around Konkuk before I
arrived at Konkuk. 냉면 quickly became my
favourite Korean dish! The second place, which was notoriously
loved by all international exchange students after myself and a close group of
other exchange students found it, was a fried chicken and beer place called,
Outdark. Outdark easily had some of the best fried chicken I have ever had, and
I remember having to go there THREE times during my last week of semester,
because so many groups wanted to go there for a final farewell.
The locals were incredibly friendly! Near
everyone I spoke to greeted me with a smile, and there were even a few locals
who ended up knowing me somewhat. In particular, I remember one lovely lady
that worked the morning shifts at the coffee shop near my dormitory ended up
remembering me (and my regular morning coffee order) every time I walked in –
however our conversations did consist of a lot of charades and broken Korean
and English. When I was at the National History Museum of Seoul, I even by
happen chance befriended a father of two who stuck up conversation with me, and
he then later treated me to lunch.
The best part about my exchange experience ...
Easily the best part of exchange
was meeting all the new friends I made, and learning to integrate myself into a
new culture. I made a number of both Korean and international friends while I
was on my exchange, and it is definitely all the little things I did with these
people that were the best parts (that’s not to say our bigger adventures like
hiking up mountains or travelling the coast of Korea weren’t a blast also). But
for me personally, having to, on my own, find my own way through a new a
country with new customs and a different way of life, was so much fun. Towards
the end of exchange, I was subconsciously taking off my shoes to enter
restaurants when appropriate and receiving anything given to me with two hands
to be polite. I even received the occasional comment that I was doing things
“so Korean” towards the end of my exchange (which I quietly took pleasure in).
My struggles whilst on exchange and how I dealt with them ...
For myself, probably the biggest struggle I
faced while on exchange was getting into my usual routine. One of the big
challenges I faced first and foremost was scavenging breakfast. Breakfast isn’t
usually an important meal in Korea, some even go without it, and those who do get
breakfast, don’t have what I would call ‘breakfast foods.’ It took me a bit,
but I ended up adapting to my new pseudo-breakfast style, that I made from the
sandwich and coffee shop right near my dormitory. I surprisingly didn’t feel much culture shock
however. Which looking back, makes a bit of sense considering how much exposure
I had to East Asian cultures in middle and high school, but that was
predominantly Japanese culture. Even so I adapted to Korean life and customs
relatively quickly, so I wasn’t feeling any culture shock. Really, the sleeper
hit was the reverse culture shock which Jeannette mentioned that, I’ll
be honest, I didn’t take much heed of her warning. Also surprisingly, I didn’t
experience much home sickness. I was just having so much fun living in another
country, it never became an issue. I even was a little sad I had to go home
once my time had finished. But I could tell my family missed me dearly.
A little about my accommodation at Konkuk University ...
I lived at the on-campus dormitory at
Konkuk University. The room I had was quite small, so that took some adjusting
to get used to, and since I was a foreign student, I had to share my room with
another student. However, my roommate ended up leaving about half way through
the semester. The location was extremely convenient, as I was only ever a 5
minute walk from any given building on campus (but the climb back up the hill
the dorm was situated on was a slog some days), and living in the dorms was
good because you had a sense of community with those on your floor, and usually
we would knock on each other’s doors to see who wanted to go out for dinner.
Not to mention there was a number of facilities right outside the dormitory
building. Advice I would give however would be that, if you want to save some
cash, look at places near Konkuk also, because a fair few students lived off
campus (some even a bit cheaper than my dorm), but if you aren’t overly worried
about money, I would say the extra cost is worth the convenience.
How I funded my exchange experience ...
I funded my exchange purely by my
personal savings. I knew back in high school I wanted to do some studying
abroad when I went to university. I saved up nearly all the money I made from
working for 5 years at EB Games. But honestly, I had more than enough savings,
and the exchange as a whole cost me less that what I expected in the end.
Travelling whilst on Exchange ...
Yes!!! After I finished my
semester, a friend of mine who came on exchange with me, and a mutual friend of
ours when travelling around the coast of Korea. We went to Jeonju, Suncheon,
Busan, Andong and Kyeonju. It was very different travelling experience personally
jumping from town to town, spending only a day or two at any one location. But
I saw so many things from Buddhist temples on the edge of cliffs, to historic
villages, and even a restaurant that my favourite Korean American actor, Ma
Dong-Seok visited! (That was pure chance, but I was stilled hyped when our
friend spied his picture on the wall of the place we had dinner)
My advice to someone who is considering/ about to embark on Exchange ...
My advice would be that, where
ever you’re thinking of going, plan now. I started planning from my very first
semester of university to go on exchange, and between all the work I had to do
with my part time job and keeping up with studies, I had to try and squeeze in
time to plan my exchange. So, don’t leave things to the last minute!
But for those who aren’t sure
about going on exchange because they are worried, they won’t cope or they won’t
be able to adapt to a new style of living, take it from a guy who deals with
anxiety himself, worry about that when you’re in the moment. All the things I
worried about with living in another country without my family for support,
when it came time to face those worries, I just found you can just do it. As a
wise man once said: “Sometimes you gotta run, before you can walk”.
- Taylor studied abroad at Konkuk University in South Korea.
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