Life in South Korea Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I took two classes in Korea. One was taught by an American professor, so that class was very similar in style to the classes I'm used to at my home university. The other was my language class. I learned a lot more from that class than I ever have in any of my Korean classes at my home university. We spent much more time in class and the teachers only spoke Korean. Instead of giving us an English translation for every word, they defined words using simpler Korean. That helped me learn a lot better, since I had to figure out for myself what the words meant. The workload was not too heavy, though it was greater than the workload in my Korean classes in the US. Overall it was very effective and rewarding to study Korean in a South Korean classroom.

On-site administration of your program

Our program staff were very knowledgeable about Korea and were always able to answer our questions about where to get things we needed. They were extremely accessible too.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Dorms are always convenient and comfortable. I did wish that it had been closer to the subway though. The international dorm is really new, but kind of far from the subways stop.

There's food nearby and there are cafeterias in the dorm. It's very easy and cheap to get food. If you're allergic to anything you should learn how to ask if the thing you're allergic to is in whatever you order. The only bad experience I remember with food was when I ordered my first meal. I found something that didn't seem to me like it would have seafood in it, but it turned out it had shrimp in it, so I felt really sick. After that I learned how to ask about seafood and never had trouble again.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The three-day field trip before orientation was great! I especially liked getting to see some of the historical/cultural sights outside of Seoul. As far as the social experience, I just wanted to say that Koreans are really, really nice and will help you with anything you need.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I didn't encounter any issues with health, nor did I hear about any. Seoul is very, very safe. You should still take normal precautions, like not going out late at night by yourself, but you don't need to worry as much as you would in Europe

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

We practiced the language with our teachers and just about everyone we encountered. Most Koreans know some English but are too shy to speak it, so we did use it a lot in our everyday interactions

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• Dorm

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• Americans
• International Students