Finding My Inner Seoul in Korea Past Review

By (Film, Photography & Visual Arts (BFA), Ithaca College) for

Hanyang University: Seoul - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
In every way. The price and and one-month timeline were both just right.

Review Photos

Exchange: Seoul - Hanyang University Photo

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Could receive up to 9 credits; the work of a semester is compressed into a month hence classes are 3 hours long, but after a week one got used to this, as you gain so much quality knowledge within a short period of time.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Great inclusive international experience. Offered great field-trips to see around Seoul. Friendly and helpful staff. Great facilities.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

Great Korean food, and American too.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Had great trips, made solid friendships with folks from all over the world!

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

Very safe, with a friendly community.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?

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

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? Food is pretty cheap in Korean, hence I could about $100 every week (if you drink, however, I suppose that's a different story).
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? The low price of food is really great. Don't just spend too much on alcohol and clubbing the first week of orientation before classes start just because everyone else is. Always budget a reasonable amount of money for towards the end of the program when it would be great to do some tourist shopping. And so keep a budget of all your purchases, currency conversions etc. it helps to keep track of spending, and to curtail bad spending habits.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? Intermediate
Language acquisition improvement?

All courses were operated in English, and all Hanyang University start were fluent at communicating with people in both Korean and English.

If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Direct Enrollment/Exchange

* Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? Exchange

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • International Students
  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Great program with quality classes that can count for departmental credit at home universities.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Seminar: Media Industry in Korea

Course Department:
Instructor: Changhee Chun
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Get to meet a lot of industry professionals.
Credit Transfer Issues: Yes. Great course, chance to interact with producers, directors and actors.
Course Name/Rating:

Cross-Cultural Documentary Reasearch & Production in Korea

Course Department:
Instructor: Changhee Chun
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Great course, which offers a great learning experience even for non-film majors.
Credit Transfer Issues: Yes. For film majors this is helpful as it transfers as a major-requirement as Advanced Non-Fictional Film.