Exchange Semester in Seoul
My name is Edward Kamalov, I am a 3rd year bachelor's student, my major is macroeconomics. Last autumn semester I was studying in the University of Seoul, located in South Korea. I want to tell you some facts and maybe give some tips about studying abroad!
So, first of all I will tell how I got a chance to participate in the exchange program. In the beginning of the year I went to the ITMO International Office and wrote an essay about my desire to go abroad. In the essay I had to choose 3 universities in different countries and explain why I would like to study there. I chose South Korea, because I’ve always been interested in the Asian style of education, and also I had some friends who have studied there. After I got accepted I had to fill in different documents and wait for the invitation. That is how I got in Seoul!
Living in Seoul:
For the truth I wasn’t thinking that South Korea is so developed and I was amazed by the facilities in the uni’s dormitory. I had been living in my own room and had to share a bathroom with only one person. There were 4 cafeterias on campus which consisted of 33 buildings, but there are also a lot of different restaurants and cafes, which are not too expensive. The city itself is full of entertainment. I would say that Seoul is divided into different regions and each region is famous for its own kind of having fun. Speaking about the cost of living, I think that $ 700−1000 per month is pretty much enough for everything.
Studying:
Koreans care a lot about education, because of their competitive grading system. So, if your score is the lowest in the group, you will get an F, even if you did 90% of the work correctly. But this rule doesn’t work for the exchange students! We had the same kind of grading as in Russia, so I wasn’t too stressed about education. Moreover, every teacher was suggesting us to travel as much as we could around Korea, because we could miss 3 lessons of each subject in the semester. I would also say that the style of education is more faced to develop practical skills rather than theoretic ones!
Why do you need to participate in the exchange program?
I have been dreaming about studying abroad since I was 16, because I wanted to experience life in another country. Now I have a lot of friends from almost every continent who have invited me to their countries. 10 people are coming to my city in March from Korea, Netherlands, Italy and Finland! I think its amazing when you can develop your language skills by speaking with a foreign friend, and I had spent 4 months doing it! Also, such kind of travel will give you a chance to compare your country with another one, and maybe bring something useful back home and make people’s lives better!
So, to sum up, I would recommend every person to study abroad on an exchange program, because now, when you are young there are so many possibilities that can escape when you will become older!
