If you have selected Korea University as one of your exchange choices, congratulations and welcome to the KU family! Korea University is one of the top 3 universities in Korea and if you were to ask your Korean friends, they would tell you that the top 3 universities are also known as the SKY universities. The acronym is derived from (Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University). On a side note, many of my friends would recommend KU or YU as they have more activities, and KU has the best and most well organized buddy system (KUBA) to ensure that your semester in KU would be fun filled! In this report, I would provide some opinions under the section heading tips that are purely from my own experiences as well as inputs from my buddies. Part 1: Activity Log February 2013 After 3 semesters of hard work in HKUST, it is finally the time of my university life where I got to experience living and studying in another country. It was during this month that I felt the most excited and anxious at the same time due to my last minute preparations. The weather in Korea has been erratic recently and there was the possibility of snow even at the end of February. Even though it may not snow when you arrive at the end of February, I would definitely recommend that you bring a thick jacket as the temperature still fluctuates at a range below 10 degrees. An important point to note is that you would also need to prepare clothes for the summer season. You would experience 3 seasons (Winter, Spring and Summer) during this exchange so make sure you prepare for it! I arrived 3 days before the orientation and travelled around Seoul with my Korean friends. The orientation started a week before the actual semester starts and I checked into the hostel (Frontier House) one day before the orientation. I also signed up for the meal plan provided by the dormitory. In KU, there are basically 3 accommodation choices for exchange students. The first choice is CJ International house. The rooms are well furnished and new, and there are pantry areas for you to relax. There is also a gym for you to work out. However, it is located high up on a slope and pretty far from the school gate (approximately 15 minutes). The second choice is Frontier house. Basically, exchange students who did not successfully apply to CJ house would get posted here. Frontier house is a newer
building compared to CJ house, but it does not have pantries for you to make your own meals, and it does not have a gym for you to work out. The good thing about staying in Frontier house is that is located 5 minutes closer to the school compared to CJ. If you prefer to stay in CJ house, I would recommend you to submit your application and deposit as soon as the application starts, as room allocation is on a first come first serve basis. The rates are the same for CJ and Frontier at 1,580,000Won for a semester for a double room with private toilets. I would comment that the rooms are much better than that of HKUST Hall 7. If you stay in CJ or Frontier, you would be given the option to sign up for the meal plan. The food price is approximately 30%-50% cheaper compared to meals served outside. The third housing option is staying out of campus. This is a more challenging option as the location and quality of the room varies. The school and your buddy would help you to find the housing and the rate varies between 350,000Won to 550,000Won for a month. During the orientation, l met my KUBA (Korea University Buddy Assistants) buddy, KUBS Buddy (Korea University Business School) as well as other buddies and exchange students. It lasts for 3 days and during the orientation, it was filled with much administrative stuff. I opened a bank account (HANA Bank) which is also my student ID card and also purchased a Korean SIM card etc. I also went to the Seoul city tour. If you are going as a business student, you will have 2 buddies, one from KUBA and one from KUBS. The bank card (debit card) which is also your student ID card, takes forever to be ready (approximately 1 month) whereas in Yonsei, the students receive it during the orientation. So, do keep your cash safe. In Korea, you can survive pretty well with minimal cash as most merchants have card readers. The KU ID card also serves as a MRT card (Octopus card) for public transport. Make sure your phone is unlocked before arriving in Korea as many exchanged students faced difficulties in this aspect. The Seoul city tour is a good chance for you to get to know many friends and it also includes a NANTA performance which is amazing. Google it! March 2013 March 1 st is a public holiday in Korea. The semester begins after the holiday and I crashed a few courses during the add drop period. I registered for 6 courses and audited them in addition to other courses which I wanted to take. There was a course (Management Strategy) which I needed to take, but it was not offered to exchange students. I managed to enroll for the course after repeated attempts to have the TA assist me. In the end, I enrolled in Management Strategy, New Venture Creation, Personnel Management, Korean History 1, Organic Chemistry and Physical Chemistry (in an attempt to do my common core during exchange). Finally, I decided to drop Physical chemistry as the equations were simply alien to me. Organic chemistry was no easy feat as well since the lecture was given in half Korean and half English. In this month, I also received 200,000Won from the school. Basically, if you are from HKUST, you will receive it as there are some partnerships between HKUST and KU.
You would want to audit the courses as the course descriptions are unreliable. Even though it state that courses are taught in English, it might turn out to be Korean or supplemented by Korean. The add/drop period is really short (1 week) so do make your choices wisely. However, if you regret taking a course, you can still drop it at the end of the month. Do take note of the date which is listed in the exchange booklet provided during the orientation. If there is a course which is really important to you, show some enthusiasm and persistence and you MIGHT get in. The teaching in KU and HKUST is pretty different depending on the courses. Some business courses will require a lot of readings before lessons and participation is important. April and May 2013 Spring came in April and only lasts for 2 weeks. I visited many beautiful places filled with Cherry blossoms such as Yeouido park and Busan. This is also the month which projects and midterms starts, but they were not as difficult as I thought. I signed up for a program by UNESCO, called the CCAP (Cross cultural awareness program). In this program, I visited elementary schools to introduce my country in English. A Korean student translated whatever I said to Korean for the Korean students to understand. I managed to attend 6 classes in these 2 months and I would say that the experience is fulfilling. In May, the international one-stop center which basically assists foreign students invited all the HK exchange students for a simple chat over pizza and chicken. We talked about our experience and suggestions about living in Korea. It was a casual meet up. In this month, the KU business school sent an email to ask interested students to apply for housing scholarship. I applied for the scholarship and received 790,000 Won at the end of the month. At the end of the month, there is a KU Ipselenti festival which lasts for around 4 days. It starts with an open concert beside the 학생회관 student building, with many make-shift tents serving food. The festival ends with a concert priced at 9,000Won. I attended the concert and the experience is simply amazing. You will feel the KU spirit as well as experience a concert with many invited artists. Spring is the best time to travel in Korea due to the cooling weather and beautiful scenery. Do apply for the housing scholarship from the business school. Basically, all my friends who applied received it. While the school did not state the scholarship amount in the information, they would give 790,000Won to every applicant no matter how much you ask for. The international one-stop center is a place for you to ask questions and the staffs there appears to be friendlier compared to the staffs in the business school office. As my KU friends sums it up nicely, the business school office staffs are II which is intimidating and inefficient. Therefore, I would recommend that any queries be directed to the international one-stop center. If there is a must to contact the business school, do it early and follow up periodically as they hardly reply emails.
Ipselenti is one of the times when the school is the liveliest. The concert is a must-go as the cheering events will allow you to witness the true KU family spirit. Many popular singers are also invited to perform in the concert. During the same period of time, KUBA also arranged an International Students Festival. If you choose not to represent HK, you can still check out the festival and try many food and games that are set up by other students from other countries. CCAP is a valuable experience to understand the education systems in Korea as well as a chance to interact with the young kids. You will be paid 30,000Won for each lesson, but you will probably spend it on travel as well as preparations for the class, such as food etc. You can register as a CCAP volunteer here http://www.ccap.or.kr/main/index.htm June 2013 This is my most hectic month in KU, with project deadlines as well as final examinations. During this time, I also visited other universities in Seoul such as YU and SNU. Part 2: General Exchange Information Visa Apply for visa as soon as you receive the confirmation letters from HKUST and KU to avoid last minute complications. The Korean embassy in HK is able to advise you on any issues should you have any queries. More information can be found here http://hkg.mofat.go.kr/english/as/hkg/main/index.jsp. In order to prevent multiple visits, do prepare all necessary documents before you apply. Korean ID card The Korean ID card for foreigners is also called the Alien card. The school will advise you on the application procedures during the orientation. Health certificate If you are staying in the school dormitories, you will need a proof to show that you have no communicable diseases. I would recommend that you have the health check done in HK as doing in Seoul is less easy due to the language barriers with the staff in the hospital. When you receive the confirmation for housing by KU, the information will be sent to you. Course registration Course registration is done online. KUBS will send you information about that. As business courses are very popular, do take note and be familiar of the course registration procedures. Fastest fingers first!
Teaching and Assessment Powerpoint is the main delivery style in KU and could be very boring sometimes. However, the higher level business courses such as New Venture creation and Management Strategy requires a lot of readings prior to lessons. I would definitely recommend it as it helps you intellectually. Some professors are honest at the first lesson and would advise students to drop out of the course due to the heavy work load. Expenses Item Expenses (KRW) Housing 1,580,000 Food and others 3,000,000 Total 4,580,000 Health and safety There is Korea University Hospital in the medical school, and the streets in Seoul are filled with shops selling medicine. If you feel unwell, your buddy will help you to communicate with the clinic doctors. Seoul is generally a safe place. However, I would recommend that you don t travel alone at night. Korea has a drinking culture so it is not uncommon to see drunken people along the streets at night. So to speak, you might become one of the drunken persons! Korea also has a smoking culture. Cigarettes cost only 3,000Won per packet, and the school does not ban smoking unlike HKUST. So don t be surprised when you see people smoking on campus. Try not to pick up smoking though. Food Most of the food in Korea is spicy, so do watch out. Korean barbeque is very delicious but may be a little expensive. Korean alcohol is as cheap as water. The top 3 choices are Soju(Similar to Vodka), Mekju(Korean beer) and Makgoli(Rice wine) Communication Korean language is the dominant language in Korea. So do learn how to speak a little to make your life during exchange easier.
Part 3: Checklist Other than daily necessities and clothes, you would need 1) Adapters (It is cheap in Mongkok or ShamShuiPo @ 5HKD). Buy 2-3 2) Moisturizing cream (If you don t want you facial skin to peel) 3) Lip gloss (See point 2) 4) Credit card 5) Camera 6) Thick clothes and thin clothes for the different seasons Part 4: Contact I would be more than willing to share my experiences with you if you have any concerns. If more information is needed, get my contact from SBM Exchange Team by emailing at bmugexch@ust.hk"