Experience report TOPIC: Admission, arrival, housing TOPIC: Location of university/city TOPIC: Academics

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1 Experience report ANR: Name: Simone Neve Exchange semester: Fall semester Academic year: 2013/2014 Host University: Yonsei University Country: South-Korea TOPIC: Admission, arrival, housing How was your arrival organized? You could check in in the international dormitory one day before the orientation day. Did someone pick you up from the airport/station? No, I arrived 2 days before check-in and took a taxi to my guesthouse in the neighbourhood of Yonsei. But if you want, you can subscribe for pick-up by members of the mentors club, this costs around 50 euro. Was an orientation or introduction activity organized? Yes, the day after check-in we had a an orientation day. In the morning there was an orientation about practical matters, for example the Alien Registration Card. In the afternoon study associations for international students were introduced and gave us a campus tour. We were divided in mentor groups, had dinner and a party. How was accommodation organized? Does the university provide you with accommodation? What kind of accommodation does the university provide? Did you have to book your accommodation in advance or did you have to search for a place to live after you arrived? You can subscribe in advance for the 2 international dormitories: SK global house (where I lived) and International House. The rooms are for two persons, but SK global house has single rooms as well. After a while you can check if you got a room, if not you should find accommodation yourself. They have a small convenience store and some restaurants next to them. It has a lounge and studyrooms on each floor, and a big kitchen, laundry rooms, a computer room, and a small gym in the basement. It was a nice place and well-secured, but the rules were quite strict. TOPIC: Location of university/city Please describe the city you lived in. Where is the university located in the city? Seoul is enormous, with 13 million inhabitants and 22 million if you take the agglomerations into account. It is full of restaurants and shops. Yonsei university is located in Sinchon, a real student area. This is one of the most popular areas for students to go out, shop and eat, so it was a very nice location. What is the best place to go to eat/drink/dance/do sports/etc.? There are tons of restaurants, everywhere.you will find restaurants and shops on campus, and everything you need in Sinchon. Eating in a restaurant is not expensive at all, especially not in Korean restaurants. Western food is a bit more expensive. Actually, you eat out almost every day. Sinchon is a nice place to go out, but Hongdae is even more suitable for that. If you want to go to a really fancy club, you should go to Gangnam. These clubs however are a lot more expensive. What are interesting things to see and do in your host city? What was different than in Tilburg? There are many cultural sights. It is interesting to see the mix of traditional and modern in this metropolitan city. If you, for example, are visiting a nice old palace, you see a huge skyscraper with screens as a background. TOPIC: Academics Which courses did you take and why? - New product marketing: because I find innovation a really interesting topic - International management: because it is related to going abroad, multinationals and cultural adjustment. - Human resources management: because it is important to know how to manage people.

2 - Business & Society: corporate social responsibility becomes more and more important. - Community welfare: get a bit more in-depth understanding of (Korean) society. Which courses would you recommend? I would definitely recommend New product marketing by professor Im, if you like marketing. Innovation and new product development is really interesting and useful for high-quality and especially high-technology firms. However, the course is really demanding as well. International management by professor Pak was really nice as well, as it gives information hwo to develop and use a global mindset in managing multinationals. I liked HRM, which tought the basic skills. Business & Society was interesting, but I feel I didn t get enough tangible information that I can apply. Community welfare was really nice, as it is a totally different view than I am used to. However, professor Kang didn t speak English well enough, and explained a lot (maybe even 70%!) in Korean. What did the courses add to your program at Tilburg University? A more social view was good to differentiate my curriculum. Also HRM is not a part of the curriculum in Tilburg. Because I study Business Economics myself, the International Management course gave a more global view than I got in Tilburg. How does the university compare to Tilburg University concerning the level of the courses, use of extra material, level of English, workload, etc.? I think the level of the information was about the same, but less chapters per exam. (midterm and final, not cumulative) There was a lot more in-depth work than in Tilburg: (book)reports, individual projects, and at least one team project per course. This made it doable in terms of level, but the amount of work was quite high. The level of English was different among professors, it was often dependent on the place of their studies (America or not). They didn t have a problem with students who had less English proficiency. Overall, were you happy with your academic achievements during your exchange? Yes, I think I worked quite hard, even though you want to do as much travelling and other fun things as possible. My results are good and are converted nicely to Dutch grades. Please describe the campus of your host university. The campus is quite big, with a lot of buildings. Especially the old buildings look really nice. There are 2 libraries that you can access with your student card. There is a student union building with lounges, restaurants, a convenience store, a hairdresser etcetera. TOPIC: Social life Which social activities organized by the university or students? There were two associations that engaged in activities for international students: Mentorsclub, where you got your own mentor group, and Yonsei Global, that organized excursions. Did you have contact with local students? Yes, especially because I had mostly courses that were attended by many Koreans as well. You mix with them, especially for team projects. Did you have contact with other exchange students? Yes, a lot, because of the mentor group and the fact that most exchange students live in the international dormitory. How did you get along with the local students and other exchange students? Very well. I made many friends, especially exchange students but also Koreans. Did you travel to other places/countries during your exchange? Yes, I travelled to Jeju and Udo Island, south of South-Korea. I visited Samcheok on the east coast and Busan on the south coast. I also went to Japan, where I visited Osaka and Kyoto. TOPIC: Living costs How did you finance your exchange period, apart from the grant you received from Tilburg University?

3 Unfortunately, I didn t get any grant. I sublet my room in Tilburg, which covered the accommodation in Korea more than well. My parents helped me by financing all study-related costs and plane ticket. I paid for the rest by using my savings and government study grant. What were your living expenses abroad like compared to Tilburg? Because eating out is cheap, you do it almost every day. However, in the end that costs more than your normal budget for meals (because you don t want to eat basic Korean every day). Groceries are in general a bit more expensive than in the Netherlands: you often go to the small convenience stores for daily shopping, because big supermarkets are not close enough. What did you spend most of your money on? Trips and holidays, leisure. What would you advice future students to spend their money on? Leisure, make sure you don t have to miss fun activities because your budget is tight. Please outline your approximate monthly budget whilst on exchange: housing, food, textbooks, etc. Housing: 310 euro per month Food: 300 euro per month (depends, it can be cheaper if you eat simple Korean food every day, but more expensive if you eat mostly western food) Books: 50 euro per semester (depends on your courses, sometimes the ppt slides are sufficient) Public transportation: 20 euro per month TOPIC: Culture Did you experience culture shock while on exchange? Not really, only in the first week I was really impressed by the big city, wondering how to take care of everything without knowing anyone. But I soon met people and just loved to find out cultural differences. How would you compare your host culture to your own culture? The thing that you remark really quickly when you come to Seoul, is that everyone is so nicely and fashionably dressed. This is a result of the perfectionism that is driving everyone, and that is highly encouraged by the government. They want to be better than others in every sense, looks but especially education. They want to show that they are doing well (compared to North-Korea!). You can see it in their clothing, but also in their educational standards and way of life. Consequently, everyone looks quite similar. They even admit that themselves, but they like it, because they want to comply to the standard. In the Netherlands people just do and wear what they like to distinguish themselves. In Korea, it is a good thing to be modest and shy. You can t speak up to someone who is older than you. Nowadays, the youth is starting to be more open. But their openness is sometimes inappropriate for European standards, especially when they comment someone s appearance. What did you learn about your own culture while on exchange? That it is nice to have freedom in doing things that fit your personality and level without being watched. On the other hand we should complain less and be proud of our country. What was different about your host culture than you expected? I didn t have so many expectations, so I was quite open to everything. So I don t have differences in that. What did you like and not like about your host culture? I liked most of it (modesty, hard work). However, women are still behind men in terms of opportunities. They are often expected to stay home after marriage. If they want to persue a nice career, they often decide not to marry. Also, orphans are threated quite bad. They don t have any opportunities to make their life worth it, something that really bothered me.

4 Do you feel you learned a lot about your host culture, and if not, what would you like to learn more? Yes, just by living there and observing, but also because I had the community welfare course and some Korean friends who were willing to answer my questions. How would you describe your host countries culture? Perfectionistic, competitive, traditional. If you travelled to other cities/countries during your exchange, were they different than your host city/country, and how? The main difference I found between Japan and Korea is that Japan looks and behaves more western. People in Japan create their own style like we do in Europe. TOPIC: Personal development What did you learn from the people you met during your exchange? That every country and nationality is interesting in its own way, and that meeting people from all over t the world enriches you from head to toe. Would you do things differently if you had the chance, and what would you do differently? I wouldn t do it differently. Maybe watch out better for a combination of courses that would be less demanding, compared to others I had to study so much! That s also the reason I didn t have a Korean course, which would have been nice as well. What was your best experience, and what was your worst experience? I can t say what was best, because it was the total package that was so incredible. However, I know the worst: my wallet was stolen on my fourth day. I had bad luck, because in general Korea is very safe. It was difficult to figure out everything like visiting the police station and renewing my cards from the Netherlands. I hated it to be dependent on people that I only knew for 2 days to lend me money for 1,5 week. What will you remember for ever about your exchange period? Nature, the great city Seoul, and of course all the great people I met. What was the most important lesson you learned about yourself during your exchange period? Step out of your comfort zone and you will improve yourself in every sense. TOPIC: Tips for future students Would you recommend an exchange period? Definitely! Would you recommend your host university? Yes! What should prospective students bring with them/leave behind? Leave home as much as possible, so that you can shop a lot (without going bankrupt)! What preparation is required for going on exchange to this destination? Just know the basic manners to prevent that people feel you are rude to them. Was there anything you should have done in preparation that you didn t do? I started studying the Hangul (Korean alphabet) before I went but didn t finish. It s not really required but can help you finding your way. TOPIC: A picture is worth a thousand words If you took any pictures or made any videos that you would like to share with future exchange students, please include them (or them separately). Pictures that show your daily life or symbolize your exchange period are especially interesting for future exchange students.

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