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KUBS Report - SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
SITES
- Namsam Tower (aka N-Tower, Seoul Tower)
- Dongdaemun Street Shopping (esp. at night)
- Hongdae (by Yonsei University, great night-life and shopping)
- Insa-dong (famous traditional street, Korea souvenirs, restaurants, etc.)
- DMZ (demilitarized zone between South Korea & North Korea)
- Busan (southern part of Korea, famous fish market here)
- Korean folk village, Korean fortress
- Lotte World amusement park
TRANSPORTATION
- Seoul Metro (train/subway system) and occasionally buses
- Pick-up a T-money card (or phone charm) to save on transportation costs
- Everything stops running at midnight I think?
- Cabs are pretty inexpensive, especially if you are with friends and are going somewhere not too far away
JARGON
- Annyeong – hello
- Anniyo – no
- Nay - yes
.ATTIRE
“Most things you wear in America are okay in Korea. The girls tend not to wear sleeveless and they don’t like to show cleavage so you might want to adopt a similar style so people don’t look at you. Going sleeveless isn’t terrible though so don’t worry too much about it.”
DINING
- Kimchi – pickled vegetable dish
- Bulgogi – marinated, thin slices of beef
- Bibimbap – (hot or cold) rice with vegetables, egg and beef optional
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
“People off-campus generally don’t know a lot of English, so it takes more effort to communicate. There is also an atmosphere of respecting elders as in a lot of places within Asia. If you are in a crowded place and get pushed as someone walks by, don’t expect an apology haha. No tipping! J Foreigners get special tickets to events and special attention in general.”
ENTERTAINMENT
- B-Boy Meets Ballerina is a great show to watch
- Answer, NB (noise basement) -clubs
- Yomojomo, Star Beer – bars on campus
- Make friend with the locals and go to the bars with them to learn some really fun drinking games!
HOUSING
“I lived at the CJ-International House (dorm offered for international students through the school). I would live here again, it is super well-furnished and relatively new!”
BUDGET
“I had a budget based on the scholarship money I received and how much I wanted to spend on my own. But I kept track of what I spent on an excel sheet. I also tutored local students in English and made a lot of money from that which factored into my so-called budget. Housing (Korea University dorms) and tuition (paid to U of I) was probably about $2000 to $4000 total and the airfare almost another $1000. And I probably spent another $2000-$3000 for food, traveling, spending on souvenirs, etc.”
CLASSES
Seoul, South Korea – Korea University
- “Marketing Management, 3 credits = BADM 320
- Financial Management, 3 credits = FIN 221
- Geo Environmental Hazards & Life, 3 credits = Natural Science
- Beginner's Korean I, 3 credits = free elective à I SUGGEST THIS!! J
It was either equivalent or easier than the University of Illinois. I think they are nicer to exchange students since there aren’t crazy amounts of them at KU right now. One of my professors was actually a U of I grad so that was nice. Exams, finals, homework all are similar to the structure of U of I, depending on the class. Group projects are usually more emphasized in Asia in general, but it was fun to work with the locals in Korea. My professors seemed to love the exchange students and there are also lots of visiting professors from different countries as well.”
PREPARATION BEFORE STUDYING ABROAD
“I mapped out which courses I had left before graduation and made my study abroad semesters the most flexible of semesters so that I could take easier courses (gen-eds which count as pass/fail) abroad. I also was really flexible in taking anything I could find abroad that transferred over to something useful. I had to search through the exchange school’s course list and get things approved on my own through Jennifer because some courses were not listed on the U of I study abroad sheet for the different exchange programs.”
TRAVEL
From Korea, students traveled to:
“Japan while on exchange, however there is plenty of time to travel before school starts because Korea Uni started late Feb-early March!”
FAVORITE MEMORY
“Hanging out with your Korea University buddies. They have an AMAZING buddy program called KUBA and the kids in it are so much fun to hang out with. You learn more about local culture through them.”
ADVICE
“Don’t be too strict with budgeting, make sure you have enough leeway to enjoy yourself because you don’t want to go back to your home country and wish you spent the extra $40 that one weekend to go on a short, side trip with friends or check out the “ice bar” club or some other activity.
***While in Korea, you definitely need to go out with the locals!
All answers provided by:
Saly Sebastian
Spring 2008
