Study program: Business major Exchange semester: Spring Academic year: 2017 2018 Host University: Yonsei University Country: South Korea First of all, you are so lucky to have the opportunity to have an exchange semester ahead of you. It was one of the best experiences of my life and I would therefore highly recommend going on an exchange. In this report I will tell you more about my experiences in Seoul, South Korea. I General information about the school - University I did my exchange at Yonsei University in Seoul. Yonsei is a very prestigious school as it is one of the top universities in South Korea. Almost everyone in Korea knows it and they are impressed when you tell them you study there, even though the admission requirements for exchange students are not that high. This also has everything to do with the competition between the universities. - Neighborhood Yonsei is located in Sinchon, a really nice neighborhood in Seoul. It s centrally located in Seoul (at the inner circle line) and has many restaurants, shops, (karaoke) bars and other entertainment. There is another (woman s) university in Sinchon, which makes it a really young and lively area (see pictures below). Almost every evening, there are street performances. From the campus of Yonsei, you directly walk into the center of Sinchon. Though, the campus of Yonsei is really big (not comparable to Tilburg University) and located on a hill, so it depends where you will have your classes. Business students have most of their lectures in the business building and in New Millennial Hall (the latter is next to the dorms).
- Campus The dorms are also located on campus, but approximately 10 to 15 minutes walking to the center and about 10 minutes walking to the library. The campus is really nice, especially the area near the Underwood building (see second picture below). There are many restaurants, convenience stores and cafes on campus and the library has a rooftop! There are around 40,000 students in total at Yonsei (located at multiple campuses), but it s never really crowded. I actually find the design of the main road of the campus comparable to Tilburg University: one big lane with many trees and buildings on the side with the student union building and the library s as the center. There is also a hill behind the campus with a nice picnic platform and a temple (approximately 20/30 minutes walk from the dorms), where I used to go if I needed to get an escape from the city, which can be quite hectic. If you want to have a look at what the university looks like, check out this video: http://youtu.be/-sfawbxq1om. Exchange students study at the main campus, called Sinchon campus. The main road on campus in February.
The Underwood building in full glory during spring. II Practical information - Academic calendar As mentioned above, I studied during the Spring semester at Yonsei. The semesters in Korea are quite short compared to Tilburg. We could check in at our dorms at the 22 nd of February and had to leave at the 22 nd of June. My classes started at the 6 th of March, so we had almost a two week holiday before we really started our semester and I took my last exam at the 16 th of June, so again had another week of holiday. - Housing I applied for a dorm room immediately as the application period opened, as I heard it s really competitive. You can choose between 3 types of rooms (as a girl). There is the international house for girls-only where you share a room with a roommate and have a common bathroom at the end of the hallway. I stayed in the SK global house, which is more luxurious. It has a common kitchen (not equipped with pots etc.) and a gym in the basement. You can choose between a shared room with one other roommate or a single room. Every room in the SK Global House has its own bathroom. I stayed in a single room. I found it very convenient to live in the dorms, since almost all of the exchange students live here. So, it s really easy to meet each other for dinner, partying, taking the cab home and its so close to your lectures. Even though, the single room wasn t really cheap, it s small and the bed is uncomfortable (you will get used to it ).
Single room in SK Global House - Living costs My whole exchange cost me about 8,500,- in total and it was totally worth it. Type of expense Amount Visa (multiple entry) 85 Health and travel insurance (on top of my regular Dutch 150 insurance expenses) Vaccinations 370 Housing 2100 Food (groceries, going out for lunch/ dinner) 1000 Café s, shopping, partying 1000 Taxi s, laundry, public transport 300 Study books 100 Flight tickets (to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Jeju, Philippines and 1500 Beijing and my flight to Seoul and back to Amsterdam) Trips (abroad and in Korea): hotels, buses, trains, food, partying 2000 and other expenses during my trips - Culture and language The first days after I arrived, I had quite a culture shock. It was my first time outside of Europe thus I didn t really know what to expect. I had a terrible jetlag and didn t sleep for over 24 hours, so was exhausted. Moreover, I am a vegan (sometimes I eat fish if there is no other option). In the Netherlands I am used to asking the waiter/ cashier about the ingredients and if they can maybe
veganize it for me. In Korea, this is not an option. First of all, people don t know what veganism/ vegetarianism is. If you ask them if there is no meat in the dish, it still might contain a little bit of meat. Second of all, most people in Seoul don t speak English or are to insecure/ afraid to speak English. This made the first week really hard for me, but after the first week I got used to it and found my way in it. Though, it would be very useful if you speak or can read some Korean. Also, doing grocery shopping in Korea is totally different than in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands there are supermarkets everywhere, in Korea you have the convenience stores (comparable to AH to go s). Finding affordable fruits and vegetables is hard. I went to a local market near the campus once a week (Yeongcheon traditional market) or to the Home Plus, a hypermarket chain. Some Korean dishes: Fried rice, kimchi fried dumplings, gimbap (Korean sushi), cold soba noodles, bibimbap and kimchi, soy beans and pickled radish as side dishes.
Tofu stew with rice and many side dishes, such as kimchi, pickled vegetables and seaweed. Shabu Shabu (the Korean version of Chinese hotpot). You get a big pot with broth and can order vegetables, meat and/ or fish to boil in the broth.
The famous sashimi at Jeju Apart from the food and language barrier, I adjusted pretty easy to the Korean life. Koreans are quite Western. They dress well, are well mannered and are respectful. Moreover, they are always willing to help you, even though they don t speak English. If you are struggling with finding the right bus and they notice it, they will approach you to see if you need some help and they all have a phone with internet, so will use a translation app to help you. One of the things I liked the most about Seoul is the safety. I ve never felt so safe anywhere in my life before. As a girl, I can easily walk home or take a cab back on my own in the middle of the night. What I was so surprised about in the first weeks is that people leave their wallet, phone and laptop behind in a restaurant and go to the toilet for example. When they come back, everything is still there. Also, you can walk on the street with your bag opened and no one will take anything out of your bag. You only have to be careful in the areas with more foreigners (Itaewon for example). III Academic information To be honest, I expected other courses from Yonsei. When I compared multiple universities in Asia for my exchange, I of course looked at the courses they offered a well. The courses that I was interested in at Yonsei, turned out to be unavailable during my exchange semester or were not applicable for my major. So please carefully look at the right courses for your major. Also, applying for
courses is very competitive, so it might be the case that you don t get into your courses because there are too many students who want to take the course. I had to take midterms, final exams, give presentations for group projects and write papers. However, the work pressure is less than in Tilburg and I found the courses quite easy. If you keep up your work during the week, you won t have to study during the weekends. There is one midterm week halfway during the semester, however most of my midterms where planned around this week. The final exams and most of the presentations take place in the last weeks of the semester. Course Prerequisites Exam Entrepreneurial Business Management background Management & Investment in China Theory and Practice of Negotiation Corporate Finance - ECTS/ credits exam, 6/3 Final group projects and presentation Midterm, final 6/3 exam and paper Final exam, 6/3 group projects and presentation 2 midterms 6/3 and final exam Comments Okay course. More international management then China related Really boring. More related to law then economics. Good course and nice professor Some extra photos of my exchange in Korea Below, I added some more pictures of the things I have seen during my exchange. As you will see, Korea has lots to offer, so whether you want to party, get to know more about the culture, visit museums or use Seoul as a hub to visit many other Asian countries (such as Japan, China or the Philippines), you can find it all here. View over the Han river and Seoul from the Lotte tower
Cherry blossom season Gyeongbokgung palace
One of the many game cafes in Seoul. Fun place for pre-drinking Visiting the DMZ Most magical place I ve seen in Korea. Located in Gyeongju
Busan Cultural village in Busan, also known as the Santorini of Korea Jeju