EXCHANGE REPORT KOREA UNIVERSITY Fall 2013 Gloria MAK Year 3 BBA (Econ&Mgmt)
Table of Contents Part I Activity Log 3-4 Part II General Exchange Information 5-7 Part III Checklist.. 7
Part 1 - Monthly Activity Log August 2013 Prior to the exchange program, Korea University (KU) has contacted us via email and informed us a lot of important information such as the buddy arrangement, airport pickup service, and course registration and so on. Korea University provided airport pickup service for us which has to be registered before arrival. I arrived on 24 August in Korea and took the pickup bus from KU. When I arrived, there were KUBA members holding cardboards and showed us the way to the shuttle bus. KUBA stands for Korea University Buddy Assistants (KUBA) which is a student association which assisted us throughout the whole semester. The weather is good when I arrived in late August. It was hot and dry. I would say it is hotter than in Hong Kong and the sunshine is much stronger than in Hong Kong. In late August there were some orientation activities. During the free days before the semester commences I just shopped and ate around. We also had to go to the immigration office for our Alien registration card. It is a must to do that otherwise our transcript would not be issued. KU would tell you what to do and give you instructions. September 2013 In September, classes were not that busy so I went out a lot after class. The first week was the add/drop period so I was basically running around the campus trying to get into good classes. Since not all classes are in English in KU, we had to select carefully during the course registration. For exchange students, we could take up to 6 courses, maximum 20 credits. All their courses are 3 credits each however some might be equivalent to 4-credit courses in HKUST. KU also provided Korean Language courses but I am not sure whether they could be transferred back to HKUST afterwards. Please consent the related team. In late September there was a great annual sport event between KU and its rival university Yonsei University. We were allowed to skip the class and went to watch the matches. KU students were all very united and cheered for KU. We exchange students were taught to sing and cheer with them. The atmosphere was great and I could feel how they loved and supported the school. October 2013 In late October it was a month of red leaves. Since Autumn is getting close, the campus became very beautiful and was covered with red leaves. In late October it was the midterm week so we got to prepare for the midterms. On 29 Oct there was a special event called International Student Festival which all exchange students from
the same country were grouped together to introduce/ promote their countries. I was the booth leader for the Hong Kong group. It was fun. November 2013 The weather started to get cold. After the midterms we were much freer again. As usual I went out a lot for shopping and eating. I also went to the DMZ zone (boundary between South and North Korea) led by KUBA. It was worthwhile to go there. Though there weren t tests, we had some presentations and projects to do in November. December 2013 The weather was very very cold in December. The lowest I experienced was 14C! Everywhere was covered with snow and the campus was just like a ski field. December was also the month of final exams. Since I took 6 courses, the final exam week was a bit hectic since I had 5 exams altogether. I went out fewer than before since it was too cold to go out. I had to wear 2 pair of tights + jeans + thick socks + boots + Scarf + gloves to keep myself warm (HAHA!)!!
Part 2 - General Exchange Information 1) Visa Procedures You will need a D-2 visa for exchange. Go to the Korean Embassy in Admiralty for the visa. It took me about 5 days to get the visa. 2) Orientation Activities From 26 August to 28 August there was a row of orientation activities for all exchange students such as campus tour, paper work registration, mobile phone registration, etc. They would help you with different registration and you would receive a package of paperwork before you leave for Korea so just follow the instruction. Followed by the orientation, the school also arranged a Seoul city tour for us. They brought us to different attractions in Seoul which was fun. Before the semester commenced we had a few days of free time so I just hanged around in the city and did some shopping and eating. 3) International Services & Activities There is a department called One-Stop Global Service Centre for us exchange students. They are happy to deal with our problems. As mentioned before, the KUBA also offered great assistance. Each of us was put into different groups and there were different activities organized by the group leader every month. It is your own choice whether to join or not. 4) Accommodations You could apply for on-campus housing. I, however, chose to stay in a private off-campus hall near KU. Before I went for exchange, I heard that the on-campus housing was located on the hill and one had to walk up and down the hill everyday (which was true) therefore I gave up applying for that. The offcampus hall called Allive Goshitel was new and neat. They offer single rooms. Each room has a fridge, own bathroom and even an Air Con. I was satisfied with the accommodation. 5) Courses Registration I enrolled into 6 courses: 2 Econ electives (equivalent to Econ4334, Econ4284) 2 Management electives (equivalent to MGMT4210, MGMT3140) 2 common core electives (equivalent to S&A common core)
All professors have great English. I was very surprised that even my Korean classmates had very good English especially the students in Business School. Nevertheless it was a bit hard for me to communicate with people outside school since Korean is the major language in Korea. I actually recommend you to take Korean language class. It is not that hard since I could read simple Korean characters and managed to communicate with Ajuma (Korean old ladies haha) in the market using my broken Korean. I am sure if you take the language class, you will learn even quicker! 6) Teaching & Assessment Methods KU required attendance for most classes so it is difficult to skip classes. For example, one of my Management courses allowed only 3 absences otherwise you will fail the course. Some other courses are better for example one of my Econ Professors only checked attendance a few times in the semester. So it also depends on the professor. The teaching and assessment methods are quite similar to that in HKUST: lectures, presentations, projects, midterms, finals, etc. However, their grading system is quite lenient. I got 3 As easily in KU! 7) Sports & Recreation Facilities There are sport classes to register which are one credit each. Not too many students register these classes though. There are also gym rooms in the on-campus hall. 8) Cost/Expenses Food is generally cheap in Korea. If you eat in a normal restaurant it will only cost you $30-50. If you eat at school canteen, it will be even cheaper. One meal could be as low as HKD $15-$20. Ladies fashion is also cheap; however guys are more expensive. 9) Social Clubs & Networking Opportunities Most clubs are conducted primarily in Korean so I did not join any. I would say KUBA is a great channel for networking. KUBA members will bring you around and show you their culture so you will get to know different people.
10) Health & Safety Seoul is a very safe city. I felt safe even if I was walking alone outside at night. There is a Korea University hospital nearby so I guess if one gets sick one could just go there. 11) Food Korean food is easily found obviously. It is much cheaper than eating in Korean restaurants in Hong Kong. (Real) Korean food is very spicy so be prepared. If you are homesick I am sorry you cannot really find Chinese food in Korea even if you do they are not as good as in HK. On the other hand there are also McDonald s, Subway, KFC if you are not used to Korean food. 12) Transportation Around the campus there are shuttle bus for you to get around the campus but I would just walk. If you want to go out, you could just take the metro (very similar to MTR). 13) Climate Hot and sunny in summer; very cold and dry in winter. 14) Communication KU offered us a phone plan at good price. If you use Samsung or Iphone normally the phone card should work on your device. The plan included phone services, text messaging and internet data. 15) Cautionary measures In winter the ground gets really slippery with the snow so do beware of that. Part 3 - Items to Bring and Contacts Basically you could find everything in Korea. Warm coat, gloves, scarf for winter Adaptor Sunscreen lotion Required documents from KU Passport photos